Deadly Ties
by buddyfriend8
Summary: On a trip into the desert for a science project 'the FAYZ' begins, leaving Krista, Arianna, and Seth stranded in the desert trying to figure out what happened. At first the three friends assume it's a trick Krista's dad is playing on them. After a night spent alone in the desert they take refuge in Perdido Beach and life changes, can they survive the FAYZ, and keep their promise?
1. Authors Note

Disclaimer: I do not own Gone, or any other works by Michael Grant. I am not taking credit for any of Michael Grant's work, and do not plan on using his work to make a profit. This is for entertainment purposes only. All credit for Gone (and the other books in the series) goes to Michael Grant.

My Oc's: All but three of the characters in this fanfic are Michael Grant's characters, and I will not be taking credit for them. Krista, and Seth are the only characters I will be taking credit for, because they are my Oc's, thought of and created by me. I would also like to thank aprilthirteen13 for letting me use **her** Oc, Arianna in my story.

**Author's Note**: I apologize for such a long authors note, but I wanted to get things straight. This is my first fanfic, and I would appreciate constructive criticism so that I can improve my writing skills. Keep in mind, that there is a difference between constructive criticism and being rude. Most of the times I come up with my own ideas for my stories, but occasionally I will ask for ideas. Please only give me idea's if I ask for them. I have to give credit to aprilthirteen13 for helping me with most, if not all, of my stories.

_Thank you for taking the time to read this authors note, and please, enjoy the story :)_


	2. Chapter 1

"Are we there yet?" Krista complained.

"No," Arianna answered dully for about the fiftieth time.

Seth chuckled from his spot beside Arianna in the backseat of Krista's family car.

Krista groaned and stared out the window.

Arianna sat back in her seat and rolled down her window. Her waist length black hair whipping around her face with the wind.

Jim -Krista's dad- looked over his shoulder briefly, before looking back to the open road ahead of him.

Krista was sitting in the front seat, her shoulder length semi-curly light brown hair pulled back into a neat pony. She was wearing a pink ball-cap and a white tank top, with pink shorts to match her hat. Her lightly tanned skin was heated from the sun as her ice blue eyes scanned the horizon for life.

Jim was also wearing a ball-cap, but a white one, with torn edges. It was a well used hat, he wore it all the time. He was wearing a black muscle shirt, and tan cargo shorts. His short black hair was barely visible from underneath his cap.

Seth was quite relaxed in the back seat with Arianna. He was wearing a light grey T-Shirt, and black shorts. He had decided to go hat-less, but was beginning to regret it as the sun beat down onto the surrounding sand. The glare shining into his light green eyes as he stared out the window. His short blond hair had a shaggy look to it as it hung in his eyes, beads of sweat forming on his brows from the heat.

Arianna sighed contently, the wind cooling her down, her hair whipping her face, making it tingle slightly. She pushed her sunglasses further up on her nose, observing the motionless rocks and sand of the desert. Her hair was getting knotted but she didn't care. Her light blue halter top summer dress just wasn't cooling her down enough in the desert heat.

After about five minutes of silence and a long stretch of the dusty road later, black smoke started to pour out from under the hood.

"That doesn't look good..." Jim trailed off as he pulled the car to the side of the road.

Krista looked over to her father with a half scowl on her face, "Really dad? You never took it in to get fixed, did you?"

He sighed and undid his seat belt, opening the door, "I was going to, I just haven't gotten around to it yet."

Krista rolled her eyes, "Just please hurry dad? It's too hot."

Seth and Arianna sat silently in the back seat, not wanting to intervene.

"Come give me a hand please sweetie?" Jim asked as he stepped out of the car and walked around to the hood.

Krista sighed and undid her seat belt, turning to her friends, "I'll be right back," She said as she opened the door.

They both nodded, "Take your time Kris," Seth said, using their nickname for her.

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" Kris laughed lightly and turned around in time to see the hood of the car slam shut. Jim was gone.

"Dad..?" She asked warily, "this isn't a funny joke y'know..."

Arianna and Seth looked at her puzzled, "You okay Kris..?"

She held a finger up to the two in the back, signalling them to be quiet, "Dad? This isn't funny."

There was still no answer, so she walked around to where her dad had been standing. Nothing. She bent down and looked under the car. Still nothing.

Seth stepped out of the car and walked around to her, "What's up Kris? Where'd Jim go?"

"Dad!" She yelled as she stood up, "I get it, I was being rude! You can come back now."

Arianna got out of the car as well, "Where the h-" She stopped herself, "Where'd he go?"

"Maybe he..." Seth started, but had no explanation for what had just happened.

"Great... Ditched by you're dad..." Arianna looked at Kris, "Even he thinks studying desert life is a stupid science project."

"Okay, maybe you were right..." Kris trailed off, lowering her head.

Seth glanced at Arianna and sighed, "Ari..." He said, using her nickname now as well.

She raised an eyebrow at him, "Yeah Blondie?" She grinned at the nickname her and Kris had given him.

He smiled for a moment before regaining his straight face, "Go easy on Kris... I thought it was a good idea, and so did the teacher..." He paused momentarily, "You're just agitated by the heat."

"I guess you're right," Ari sighed, she hated admitting she was wrong.

Kris raised her head again and wiped the sweat from her forehead, "Well, until my dad comes back, we should at least turn off the car and wheel it into some shade..."

"Good Idea," Seth said, just then the engine sputtered and died. "Minus the shutting off part..."

Kris laughed lightly and looked around her, "There's some shade just up the road... And its downhill."

"This is going to be so fun," Ari said sarcastically and took off her heels, "Why did I even wear theses..?"

Kris shrugged, "Seth and I will push the car... You can sit in the drivers seat and use the wheel to guide it into the shade."

"No..." Ari said with a sarcastic tone, "I thought I was going to use the radio to steer."

All three of them laughed and got into their positions. Ari in the drivers seat, her hands on the wheel, and Seth and Kris leaning on the trunk.

"Ready?" Seth asked.

Ari nodded, then realized they couldn't see her nod, "Yeah."

Kris and Seth looked to each other, then as if rehearsed started pushing at the same time.

What seemed like hours of hard work and sweat later they found themselves panting under the shade of a surprisingly alive tree.

Ari hopped out of the drivers seat and looked at them with a raised eyebrow, "It's not that hot..."

"You," Kris started, but went back to panting.

Seth who had almost caught his breath finished what she was saying, "Didn't just push a car down a dirt road in the desert."

"True..." Ari trailed off and opened the trunk, pulling out three water bottles. She tossed one to each of her friends then opened the third for herself.

• • •

It was starting to get dark and there was still no sign of Jim.

"Maybe something happened to him..." Kris looked at her friends.

Ari shrugged, "Maybe."

The three friends fell into an awkward silence, staring out into the desert surrounding them.

The howl of a coyote made them all jump slightly, "Maybe we should get back into the car..." Kris trailed off as she stood up.

"Good idea," Seth said as he too got up.

Ari laughed lightly, "You guys are such chickens."

Kris just rolled her eyes and walked around to the passenger seat and sat down, closing the door and locking it.

Seth decided to sit in the drivers seat, not wanting to share the back with Ari for the night. He too closed the door and locked it.

Another howl made Ari get up and crawl into the back seat, closing the door and locking them both.

"Yeah... We're the chickens huh?" Kris asked with a small smirk.

Ari glared at her, making her feel a little funny inside, "Okay, okay, I'm sorry."

Seth raised an eyebrow at the way Kris was reacting, she never gave up that easily.

Ari smirked and stopped glaring, laying down.

"No fair... That's practically a bed back there" Seth complained.

Ari smiled contently, "Exactly."

Seth chuckled and leaned his chair back.

"Hey, how'd you do that?" Kris asked.

Seth closed his eyes, "The lever on the side of the seat..."

Kris reached down the side of her seat and pulled the lever, but the seat stayed still, "Mine doesn't work Seth."

Another howl filled the air, this one seeming to be a lot closer than the last.

Seth leaned forward and rolled up his window, and everyone else did the same.

"Seth, can you help me put my seat down please?" Kris asked once her window was up.

"Sure thing Kris," He said and leaned over her, reaching down the side of the seat.

Ari looked at the two, what an awkward position. Seth was leaning from his seat, and over her with his hand down the seat. She didn't understand how Kris could let anyone get that close to her, never mind a guy.

Seth yanked on the lever, "It's stuck," He said as he fought with it.

"Told you," Kris mused.

Seth laughed lightly, "Oh hush, I think I've almost got it."

"Sure..." Kris said and rolled her eyes while she laughed lightly.

With a final jerk the lever worked, the seat flying back under both of their wight.

Kris let out a small shriek as the seat flew back as far as it would go, and blushed softly when Seth fell on top of her.

Seth shot up quickly, "You okay Kris? I didn't hurt you did I?"

Kris shook her head as Ari mumbled, "You're just lucky that seat didnt come any closer to landing on my head."

They both laughed lightly.

"I don't see whats so funny," Ari grumbled as Seth returned to his seat and laid back on it.

"You," Kris said, laying contently on her seat.

Ari and Seth drifted off quickly, but Kris couldn't fall asleep. She kept asking herself where her father had went, and why he wasn't back. No matter how many times she asked the questions, she found no answers.

Just as Kris was about to fall asleep she heard low yips and whines around the car, she sat up quickly.

The movement woke the other two up, Seth groaned and rubbed his eyes, "What is it Kris?"

"Shh," She said and held her index finger to her lips, whispering, "I hear something."

The three sat in an awkward silence filled with the yips and pants of coyotes as they waited for them to leave, but the coyotes stayed.

A coyote jumped into the back door of the car, causing Ari to scream and jump into the front with the others.

Kris and Seth both grabbed her and hugged her tightly. It was in this huddle that they made a promise, a very important promise.

"No matter what's going on... No matter what happens..." Kris paused as another coyote bounced off the side of the car. "We stay friends, until the end of this madness... Even if we die keeping the promise."

There was a long pause as the coyotes continued to yip at each other, sounding irritated that they couldn't get into the car.

Seth was the first to speak, "I'm in..."

"Me too," Ari said.

The three stayed huddled closely for what seemed like hours.

After a while the coyotes gave up, and continued on their way. The three in the car letting out relieved sighs and falling asleep again.

What awaited them in the morning was a long walk back to Perdido beach, where they hoped to find an explanation to Jim's disappearance.


	3. Chapter 2

**I just want to thank the few of you who read and/or reviewed my last chapter. Enjoy.**

* * *

When Kris woke in the morning Seth was already up, and sitting on the hood of the car. She sat up slowly and opened the door as quietly as she could, stepping out onto the now cool desert sand.

"Morning," Seth said without turning to face her.

Kris shut the door quietly and wandered over to the front of the car, "Whats got you up so early Blondie?"

He smiled and looked at her, "Come here you," He said as he held his arms out. He had seen the sorrow hiding in her eyes.

She smiled weakly and moved towards him, hugging him gently.

They stayed that way for a few minutes, and they would have stayed longer if it weren't for Ari, "What the..?"

They released from the hug and both looked to her, "Never seen anyone hugging before Ari?" Seth asked.

Kris laughed lightly at Ari's reaction, but soon felt her lungs being compressed. She couldn't breath.

Ari held her her glare on Kris, watching her crumple to the ground. Only once she was on the ground did she look away.

"What the heck? Are you okay Kris?" Seth asked and jumped off the hood of the car, kneeling beside her.

Kris was gasping for air, and Seth looked over to Ari, "What did you do to her?" He shouted.

Ari rolled her eyes and sat back down in the car.

Kris finally managed to regain her breath, sitting up slowly, "What the heck was that?"

Seth helped her to her feet, "I don't know..."

"Let's just head back to the nearest town..." Ari spoke silently from the backseat.

Ari hadn't meant to hurt Kris, she had simply let her anger control her yet again. Lately she had been noticing that when she got angry, she couldn't help but glare at the person who had caused her anger. It all started in their hotel room at Clifftop. The maid had accidentally knocked her drink off the table, and when Ari had stared at her, she clutched her hand and yelped as if she had been cut. She hadn't.

"Yeah... Sure," Kris said, quiet as well. She couldn't stay mad at Ari forever, but she could stay mad for at least a few minutes.

Seth reached into the glove box on the passenger side, and pulled out a map. He walked around and spread it on the hood of the car.

"The nearest town is Perdido Beach... And it's a few hours walk from here, give or take." He said as he observed the map.

"We'd better get going then," Ari said as she hopped out of the seat and headed for the trunk. She popped it open and grabbed a water bottle and a packet of cookies.

"Good thing we brought food and water then, huh?" Kris asked, trying to show Ari that she wasn't mad with her anymore.

Ari got the hint and smiled, "Yeah,"

Kris grabbed herself a water bottle and a sandwich before moving out of the way so Seth could grab something too.

"We may as well take it all with us... Not like it'll go to much use out here," He said as he grabbed the backpack of food and drinks and slung it over his shoulder.

"Guess you're right..." Kris said, taking a drink of her water.

"That's a first," Seth laughed lightly, trying to fit some humour into the rather gloomy looking day ahead of them. Apparently they weren't in the mood to joke.

The three of them started walking down the stretch of dirt road that wound around hills of sand. It took them what seemed like hours before they set foot on the pavement of the highway.

They all stopped, "Where is all the traffic?" Kris asked.

No one had an answer, so they stood taking in the scene in front of them.

There was not a single car moving on the highway, and the cars that were there were all piled together. It looked as if all the drivers disappeared at the same time, leaving the cars to crash themselves, and maybe that's what happened.

The strip of highway to the south was completely deserted, but to the north, there appeared to be a few human forms walking towards them, or was it away? They couldn't tell.

"Hey!" Seth shouted, the forms kept walking, they hadn't heard.

"They're too far away..." Ari said, looking south, "We should head that way."

Seth checked the map to make sure, "Yep."

Kris pulled out her water and took another drink of it, "Maybe we should stop to eat?"

"Yeah, good idea," Seth said as he sat down on the pavement, Kris and Ari joining him.

He unzipped the bag and took out three sandwiches, passing one to each girl and unwrapping the last one for himself.

They ate and drank in silence.

Seconds turned to minutes as they sat, looking around them, not wanting to move on quite yet. It was then that a seagull waddled up to them, it's head tilted to the side as it screeched at them.

"Whats wrong with that thing?" Ari asked in disgust.

Kris laughed lightly, "It's a seagull, and it appears to have mange..."

"Mange..?" Seth asked, looking over to Kris with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Mange is a skin disease caused by a parasitic mite. It causes a malnourished coat, and infection of the skin," She replied, holding a piece of her crust out to the bird.

Ari looked at her, "You know this how?"

"Coyotes get mange frequently, and coyotes are a large part of desert life. I was simply studying for our project," Kris answered calmly, watching as the bird picked at the crust with its beak.

"Holy cow!" Seth exclaimed suddenly, "look at the talons on that thing!"

Ari raised an eyebrow at Seth, "Aren't they supposed to have talons?"

"Yeah..." Kris answered Ari's question before Seth could, "but not that big... Look how much longer and sharper this birds talons are compared to the seagulls back at my house." Kris lived by the ocean and had seen her fair share of seagulls, but this one was different. The talons on this bird were much longer and sharper than the seagulls that hung around her place.

The bird squawked and snatched the remaining crust from Kris before waddling away quickly.

"Thief," Ari taunted the bird, earning another loud squawk.

Seth chuckled and took one last sip of water before zipping the bag and standing.

"Guess we should start moving again, huh?" Kris asked, standing up as well.

Ari groaned, "Already? We just sat down though..."

"Do you want to spend another night out here with the coyotes Ari?" Kris asked as she started walking.

Seth helped Ari up and turned to catch up to Kris.

Ari glared at her friend's back, and she stopped moving.

"Ow, ow, ow!" She yelped, "Okay, I'm waiting!" Kris continued to yelp until the stinging in her back subsided.

Ari smirked in satisfaction and walked a bit faster in order to catch up. Seth was watching in shock. She'd done it again, one of his best friends had simply stared at Kris, and inflicted pain. What the heck was going on?

"You coming Blondie?" Kris asked over her shoulder.

He snapped back to reality, "Uh, yeah," He said as he jogged to catch up with the two.

By now the sun was high in the sky, and beating down onto the road and surrounding desert. Plastic wrappers blowing across the abandoned highway occasionally, other times a lizard would scurry across the hot pavement.

"It's all just so strange..." Kris said as they walked.

Seth looked over to her, slowing his pace slightly, "What's 'so strange' about it?"

"Think about it... My dad just disappears, there's not a soul on the highway. Not a single plane of helicopter has flown over." She paused, "And it's been a day."

Ari interrupted the two, "How can you be sure a whole day has passed?"

"Well, it was just past lunch when Jim," He paused, searching for an applicable word. "Vanished..."

"And we just had lunch a while ago, so it's been at least a day," Kris finished Seth's thought for him.

Ari nodded slowly, "Seems legit."

The three smiled and laughed at the term.

"So in other words, it made no sense to you what-so-ever and you don't want to argue?" Seth asked.

"Yeah, that's right Blondie," Ari grinned. Maybe it wouldn't be as hard to keep the promise as she had previously thought.

The three fell into a comfortable silence as they walked along the highway. The road to Coats Academy came into view, and disappeared again minutes later.

"Finally," Ari started as Perdido Beach came into view, "we're almost there."

"Yep," Seth agreed as he pulled out a water bottle and finished it off.

Kris punched his arm lightly and giggled, "Thirsty Blondie?"

A smile made its way onto his lips as he looked over to Kris, "What do you think?"

"I think that I may have wanted a drink of that," She teased him. Ari raised an eyebrow at this, she didn't understand Kris's behaviour.

Ari wasn't a very social person, and her people skills weren't the best. She often wondered how her friends could be so... Outgoing.

"As if," Seth teased, "you have your own water." He laughed lightly as he tossed her a water.

She caught it without a problem, "I'm not really thirsty, I was just bugging you," She grinned stupidly and passed the water to Ari. "You thirsty Ari?"

"Yeah..." She answered quietly and took a drink. She was thinking about what had happened earlier. How could she simply stare at someone, and make them feel pain? She shook her head, clearing the thought from her mind. She could think about it later.

As they approached Perdido beach the three noticed that like on the highway, there were no moving cars. Sure there were cars in the streets, but they all seemed to have idled out.

"Well that's odd," Ari said, she was starting to get scared. All these strange things happening at once. It wasn't normal, it was anything but normal.

Seth nodded, and Kris stared. Some of the cars had crashed into shops or the tree's in people's yards. But the strangest thing, was that there was no one anywhere. No adults, not even kids.

"Guys?" Ari asked warily, as if something was going to jump out at them.

"Yeah Ari?" Seth asked, his tone calm and relaxed. Although Seth was anything but relaxed.

She looked past the distracted Kris and over to him, "I'm starting to get a little scared."

Before Seth had a chance to say anything a dog started barking at them.

Ari screamed at the sudden lack of silence and ran to Seth, hugging him tightly.

Kris stared at the sight, her eyes wide with shock. Had Ari just hugged someone? And Seth of all people?

Seth was shocked with Ari's reaction as well, but hugged her back gently. He then placed his hands on her shoulders and held her an arms length in-front of him, staring into her light grey eyes.

She didn't know what it was about him, but whatever it was, it calmed Ari. She couldn't peel her eyes off of his, and the longer she stared, the calmer she got. It really helped.

Kris blinked a couple times to make sure she was seeing this right. She was.

Seth pulled his hands back and broke the stare with Ari, continuing to walk down the street. The dog still barking fiercely from its chain. Seth looked at the dog and it started wagging its tail, and laid down calmly.

Ari and Kris followed as Seth walked down the streets. Ari was in an unbelievably calm state, and Kris was lost in thought.

How had Seth simply looked at Ari, and without saying a word, calm her down? And that dog, how did he calm it? There was no reasonable explanation, so she stopped looking for one.

As the three got closer to the plaza, they noticed a large gathering of kids.

"See?" Seth spoke calmly, "We aren't the only ones... So we don't have to worry."

"Yeah..." Kris answered quietly.

The crowd of kids seemed to be gathered around four black vehicles.

As they approached they could hear soft murmurs and bits of conversations. "Seems fishy," and "So brave," Seemed to be the majority of the murmurs.

When the three walked up to the group, a few kids turned.

"Hey, where did you come from?" one of them asked. "Do you know a way out?" Another asked hopefully.

"No, actually, we were hoping you would know a bit more than we do..." Seth continued to speak in his calm tone.

"Yeah, we were on our way into the desert, and my dad pulled over to fix the car," Kris paused, "then he was just... Gone."

One of the older kids shrugged, "Same basic story." There were hushed whispers before the kid spoke again. "All the adults, and some of the kids just... Poofed."

"Poofed?" Ari asked doubtfully.

The kid nodded, "There, then gone. Just 'poof' gone."

Another kid came forward from the crowd, "Sam says that it's everyone fifteen and over that disappeared."

Ari raised her eyebrow to this, "Who's Sam?"

"Our leader," The kid answered quickly, "Well, one of them..."

"Oh," Seth took over for Ari, and Kris just stood there watching. "Well, we'd like to speak with Sam if that's okay."

The kid shrugged, "Sure, but he's in some meeting in the church with this dude from Coates..." He looked over his shoulder, then back to the three, "Seems like a shady character to me... I don't trust him," Yet another pause. "But that's just me."

"Well, thank you," Seth said as the kids turned away.

Seth looked to Kris and Ari, who were standing together, "Guess all we can do now is wait..."

* * *

**I hope you guys liked that chapter, and that I didn't miss too many typos this time. The next chapter should be out within the next few days.**


	4. Chapter 3

Seth had wandered into the crowd to gather more information while Kris and Ari waited. "Excuse me," He said as he tapped the shoulder of an older looking boy.

"What do you want shrimp?" It was Howard.

Seth stared at him for a second, "I was wondering if you knew when Sam will be out of the meeting."

Howard wanted to scream at the blond to stop staring, but he felt himself getting calm. He couldn't get mad. What the heck?

"Sorry for snapping at you earlier, man," The words seemed to come from Howard's mouth involuntarily, "and no one knows, might be a while though."  
Seth stopped staring at the boy, "Thanks."

"Whatever small fry," That was more like Howard.

Seth simply turned around and headed back to Kris and Ari. How had he done that? Not even Seth knew, he had simply stared into the boys eyes and he had calmed. Strange.

"Find anything out?" Kris asked as her and Ari pushed through the crowd towards Seth.

He shook his head as he met up with the two girls.

"Well," Ari started, some kid stepping on her foot. "Watch it!" She yelled and glared at the kid, she yelped and scampered away. Grinning with satisfaction she continued, "I think we should find a house to use for the time being... Before they're all taken or destroyed."

"Good Idea... Lets go," Seth said as he started walking down San Pablo Avenue.

The three of them walked until they reached Ocean Boulevard. They all stopped and tried to decide what way to go.

"Well, all of the houses except that one up there seem taken..." Kris said, pointing to a house farther up the road.

"We could always take one of the houses we passed earlier..." Seth suggested.

"No!" Ari shouted quickly, "I really need to be near the beach..."

They both stared at her, "Uh... Okay then."

"I just need a place to go if I freak out... The beach is a good place to go..." Ari said silently as she walked towards the only empty house on the street.

Kris looked over to Seth, he simply shrugged and followed Ari.

A few minutes later they were standing on the porch of the house. It was located on the corner of Ocean Boulevard and Grant street. It had easy access to the beach, and the Marina was only a five or ten minute walk away. They had a great view, and the only thing in the way of having a 'perfect' view, was the parking lot.

"Wow," Was all Kris said, and Seth was staring in awe as he took in the house.

It was a decent looking two story house with intricate wood and stone work.

"Someone was rich," Kris mused, "then again it's just a status symbol... Ours now." She grinned and opened the front door.

Ari followed her, "All I heard from that was 'ours now'."

Seth chuckled and swung the bag off his shoulder and onto the porch, walking inside to investigate the rest of the house.

As the three explored they discovered that it had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a laundry room, a spacious kitchen, an unbelievably large living room, a nice sized back yard. And last but not least, a garage.

"Call a room!" Seth and Kris both shouted at the same time, Ari grumbled and rolled her eyes.

"Fine," She said, turning and walking back into the house, plopping down on the couch. "But if either of you wake me up when I'm sleeping in the living room... You'll regret it."

The other two looked to each other and shrugged, "We can handle it... Right?" Kris asked. Seth nodded in response.

One of the boards groaned under the weight of a trespasser on the porch and Ari shot up, and ran out the door. "Who are you?" She screamed at the thin boy who looked to be no older than ten.

He looked up from what he was doing with wide eyes. Caught red handed. "I uhh," He stuttered out, grabbing a sandwich from the backpack and making a run for it.

"Hey!" Kris screamed after the boy from her spot beside Ari, "that's our food, give it back!"

"I'll handle this," Ari said with a smirk on her face, glaring at the boys legs. He fell over and started wailing.

"I'm gonna hurt that boy so bad," Kris mumbled under her breath and started storming over to the boy. Seth stopped her.

He grabbed her arm and turned her towards him, "Kris, let Ari handle it... Okay?" Seth looked deep into her eyes, watching as her anger melted away.

"Okay..." Kris said calmly, the boy still crumpled in a ball. He clutched his legs and wailed.

"Give the food back," Ari ordered.

The boy was quick to comply, dropping the sandwich almost imminently. But Ari wasn't done yet, and held her glare.

"You won't show your face around this house again," She paused. Watching as sweat formed on the boys brows, his knuckles white from holding his legs so tight. "Understood?"

The boy was in too much pain to speak, so he nodded his head quickly. Ari let him up and watched him scamper off, leaving the sandwich behind. She bent down and picked it up, "All that pain, and he got nothing," She laughed, "I like that."

"I'll go put the food away," Seth said, Ari tossing the sandwich to him.

Kris nodded, "Sounds good to me..." She said, sitting down on the couch.

Ari was about to glare at her but decided against it, shutting the door and sitting down with her.

"You guys like grapefruit, tuna, and raisins?" Seth asked from the kitchen.

The two girls looked at each other for a second, then at the same time said, "Old people foods... Ew!"

Seth laughed at the two's behaviour, "I'm guessing an elderly couple lived here when the 'poof' happened." He said and closed the refrigerator, glancing over to the cabinets briefly. He opened the one cabinet he hadn't looked in yet and grinned, "By the amount of candy in here... I'm guessing they had grandchildren."

"Score!" Ari yelled and jumped up, "Call the nerds!"

"No! Wait Ari," Kris called from the couch, once Ari turned to face her she continued. "We need to eat the stuff that goes bad first... Just in case."

Ari sighed, "Fine," She was just about to sit down, but a knock at the door made her reconsider. "Coming," She groaned and walked over to open the door.

"This the girl?" A tall, tanned boy with brown hair asked, looking to the boy Ari had chased off earlier. The little boy nodded. "May I come in? I need a word with you..." The taller boy asked, he must be one of the older kids, 13, 14 maybe? He wasn't buff, or anything along those lines, but he wasn't scrawny either. There was something about him that Ari just couldn't put her finger on. Maybe it was the way the little boy looked up to him.

"Who is it Ari?" Kris asked as she approached the door, peering around her and seeing the two boys.

"No, you can't come in," Ari snapped, and was about to slam the door in his face when Seth cam up behind her. He put his hands on her shoulders, "Ari, calm down." She sighed, and without meaning to, she calmed down.

"Who are you, anyways?" Seth asked from behind Ari, letting go of her shoulders and looking into the boys sky blue eyes.

The older boy looked down to the one standing beside him, "You can go now... I've got it under control, thanks bud." The boy nodded and scampered off again. The boy who now stood alone on the porch looked at the three, "Sam."

"You're Sam?" Kris asked, swinging the door open and pulling Ari out of the way, "Come in."

Sam nodded and walked in, "Thanks."

Seth closed the door behind him, "No problem man, we were looking for you anyways."

He raised an eyebrow and looked over at the blonde, "You were looking for me?"

Ari walked over and sat on the couch, as did Kris and Seth, "Yeah, why don't you come sit, so we can all talk?"

The sudden interest in talking seemed suspicious to Sam, maybe he should send Caine to speak with them. After all Caine seemed to be calling himself 'leader'.

Seth could tell that Sam was doubtful, that he was considering leaving. He didn't know how he knew, he just did. Without thinking about it he looked into Sam's eyes, and just stared.

The hesitation Sam seemed to have had moments ago melted into slight confidence as he sat down with the three. "Shall I start by telling you why I wanted a word with you? Or are you going to start by telling me why you were looking for me?" He asked confidently.

"You can start," Seth spoke for all of them. Kris and Ari just sat listening to the conversation. Ready to give opinions if needed.

"Okay," Sam said, "I came to speak with you, because that boy you saw earlier was terrified of her." He said, gesturing to Ari, "And I wanted to find out why."

"Because he was stealing our food," Ari grumbled.

Kris rolled her eyes then cringed as Ari looked to her, "I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me."

Sam stared in confusion, then looked to Seth for an answer. Ari looked away from Kris smirking, even though she hadn't hurt Kris, her reaction was still amusing.

"Well," Seth started, focusing on Sam, "that's kinda what we wanted to talk to you about." Sam seemed confused by this, but let Seth continue. "Ever since the... the 'poof' as you call it, Ari's been a little..." He was searching for the right word, "strange."

"How so?" Sam asked. He was pretty sure he knew exactly what the blonde meant, but asked to make sure.

"Well... I'm not quite sure how to explain it..." He said, looking over to Ari.

She smirked, "I could always show him?" It was more like asking permission, rather than stating a fact.

"It's up to Sam... But man, I'm warning you..." Seth said warily.

"I'm sure I can handle it," He shrugged, "go ahead... Ari it was?"

Kris watched silently, Sam had no clue what he was in for. The pain Ari could inflict was torturous at its best. She knew from experience.

"Okay," Ari grinned, glaring at Sam. He looked puzzled at first, then the pain hit him.

"Ahh! My head!" He shouted, clutching his head with both hands. "Make it stop!" He pleaded as he doubled over.

Seth felt sorry for the guy, but he'd warned him, "Ari, that's enough."

Ari rolled her eyes, and in doing so broke her stare with the boy. Although she had to admit, she was still thinking about hurting him.

"Ari!" Seth shouted at her, "Enough!" Without knowing it, she had kept inflicting pain on the boy, even after she looked away. That was new.

"Sorry," She said as she stopped imagining the boy in pain. Kris remained silent, and Seth was a little agitated now.

"God that hurt..." Sam said as he sat upright again, looking at Ari. "How did you do that?"

She shrugged, "Just glared... And thought of pain..."

"That was some strong pain... I tell ya," He said, "I was expecting a power of some sort... But that, was surprising."

It was Ari's turn to be surprised, "What do you mean you were expecting a power?" How could anyone have predicted that someone could do such a thing as inflict pain without even touching the victim?

"Well, strange things have been happening for the past little while..." He paused, looking over to the girl with the brown hair, then back to the blonde. "And I'll tell you more about it in a minute... But first, do you guys have any powers?" He asked, not knowing their names.

Kris looked to the boy, "Seth does... Or at least seems to, but I don't have anything." She seemed disappointed.

"Ah, so you're Seth?" Sam asked, looking into the blonde's pale green eyes.

"Yeah, and that's Krista, or Kris as we call her," He replied, gesturing to Kris. "And Ari's full name is Arianna, in case you wanted to know."

Sam made a satisfied 'hm' sound before speaking, "It's nice to meet you all," A small pause, "Now, may I see your power Seth?"

"I don't have one..." He replied quietly, earning a baffled look from both Ari and Kris.

"Yeah, you do Blondie," Ari said, Kris cutting into the conversation, "You can't tell us that both Ari, and that dog just decided to calm down when you looked at them."

Sam raised an eyebrow, "Maybe he just has a calming attribute to him?" He suggested.

"He's never been like that before today though..." Kris said slowly.

Sam looked at Seth, "Perhaps people are just more willing to listen under the current circumstances..." He paused. "Although, an easy way to tell if Seth here does in-fact have powers, would be to take him to Dianna."

"Who's Dianna?" Ari asked suspiciously, earning a glance from Seth. Ari sighed softly, "Sorry if that sounded snappy."

"A girl from Coats who can read people's powers..." He replied, "well, not what they are, but how strong they are."

"What's the strongest so far?" Ari asked confidently.

"Four bars... and there are only two four bars," Sam left out the detail that he was one of the two. "There seem to be a lot of zero's, one's, and two's, but not as many three's, and like I said, only two four's."

Ari was about to ask who the four bars were, but Sam interrupted her, "Well, we'd better head to the church... That's where Dianna is reading bars."

Sam got up, as well as Ari and Seth, but Kris stayed sitting. "You coming Krista?" Sam asked her.

"Why would I? I don't have any powers..." She replied sadly.

"A few kids who didn't think they had powers turned out to be one or two bars, they just haven't figured out what their powers are, or how to use them yet," Sam said in an effort to cheer her up. He knew that everyone would be checked for powers eventually, "May as well come along."

Krista shrugged and stood up, walking out the door with the rest of them.

"So, how old are you guys anyways?" Sam asked as they walked up Grant Street. It was a weak attempt to start a conversation, but an attempt none the less.

"We're all thirteen... Besides Seth," Kris replied, still a little down at her lack of power. "I just turned thirteen a few weeks ago," Another disappointing fact, she was the youngest. Plus she had no powers.

"I turn fourteen in three weeks," Ari bragged, she loved being the second oldest. She could act childish, but she could boss them around too.

"And I Just turned fourteen the day before the 'poof'," Seth said as they walked. "What about you man?" He asked as he looked over to Sam.

Grant Street came to an end, so they continued up Sheridan Avenue, "I'm fourteen... Turn fifteen in about two weeks," Sam replied.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, and Sam guided them into the church. Up to Dianna.

"Who are they? Can't you see I have a line of waiting kids Sam?" Dianna snapped.

"I know, I know... But could you please just squeeze them in?" He asked hopefully.

"No," Her answer was flat, but meaningful. "Zero... Next," The kid who had been standing there scampered away.

"C'mon Dianna, just these three, then I'll leave you alone," Sam tried again, not wanting to wait in the lineup.

Dianna was about to grab the next kids hand, but stopped and looked at Sam. She was impatient, and not in the mood for this, but before she had the chance to say no again, her anger and irritation started to melt away. Her emotions were soon replaced with new ones, ones she had not summoned on her own. Dianna went from being angry and irritable, to calm and patient. She noticed the blonde boy was staring at her, his light green eyes focused on her own. "Fine... Him first," She said, gesturing to the boy with the light green eyes and blonde hair.

Seth put his hand out, and Dianna took it in both of hers. She closed her eyes, and there it was. His reading, "Two bars," She let go of his hand and opened her eyes. "Now her," She gestured to the girl with the long black hair.

Ari stuck her hand out reluctantly, fighting the urge to inflict pain on the rude girl as she took Ari's hand in hers.

Dianna closed her eyes, then smiled slightly, "Three bars," She let go of the girls hand and opened her eyes. "Impressive... What's your name?"

Ari grinned, "Arianna."

"I'll have to remember you Arianna," She smiled, Dianna actually smiled. "Okay, last one," she said as Kris stuck out her hand out. Dianna closed her eyes and waited for the reading, she was about to announce that the girl had no powers when a reading popped into her head. It was as if the girl had just developed powers, it was impossible, but what had previously been a flat zero bars was now a weak three bars. Barely three bar's, but three bars without a doubt, "Three bars."

Kris stared in shock, "What? That can't be... I don't have any powers..." She trailed off as Dianna released her hand.

"Well, the bars don't lie kid." Seth's affects had worn off, and the old Dianna was returning. "Now get lost."

"Thanks for your time Dianna," Sam said as he turned the other three around and ushered them out the door, following behind them quickly.

"Guess we'll be going home now," Seth said, Kris and Ari nodding in agreement.

"Yep, sounds good... Just," He paused, there was something about these three that Sam couldn't quite put his finger on. Whatever it was, he liked it, and had strong feelings towards the three. Love? No, love wasn't the word. Friendship fit much nicer. "If you figure your powers out Kris... Come see me," He offered before turning and heading back to the plaza.

"Um, okay," Kris said slowly as Sam jogged off.

Ari grinned stupidly and punched Kris playfully, "I think he likes you."

Seth just chuckled, "Coming?" He asked over his shoulder as he headed back to the house.

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**Hope you guys enjoyed that, took quite a bit longer to write than I thought. But I finished it on time, as promised :D Maybe a few more reviews? I would really appreciate them. Sorry for any typo's that may have managed to pass my tired eyes :P Enjoy.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Okay, this chapter every day thing really isn't working. I'm struggling to keep up, so instead of a chapter every day, I'm moving it to a chapter every 1-3 days. That means that I may have a new chapter up tomorrow, but it might not be up until Thursday. Thanks for understanding :)**

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"He does not like me," Kris said firmly, emphasizing the 'not' as she looked over to Ari.

Ari grinned, "Whatever," They were just walking up the steps of their house, and the two had been arguing the whole way home. "He likes you at least a little bit Krista, it's obvious."

Seth had had just about enough of their arguing, "Would you two please, just agree to disagree?" He asked hopefully as he opened the door and stepped into their house.

The girls both went quiet, and Kris headed upstairs to claim one of the bedrooms. The two rooms she had to chose from were very different. They were both the same size, but had different arrangements, and wall coverings. In the end Kris chose the room with a queen sized bed, white walls, a large wardrobe, and other miscellaneous objects. Such as an old sewing machine -she'd be surprised if it still worked- a mirror, and shelves filled with porcelain figurines. "What's with old people and their figurines?" She asked herself.

"I dunno," Seth said, he had been on his way to his new room when he overheard Kris talking. "It's not like they'll do any harm sitting on the shelf though."

Kris laughed lightly and turned to face Seth, who was standing in the doorway, "I knew that Blondie."

Seth smiled, "Just be glad you're room isn't bipolar," He said. The room he was stuck with had black walls on one half, a black bed, and posters of bleeding hearts. The other half was a light blue, and had trains everywhere. "I'm assuming I got the room their grandchildren stayed in when they visit."

Kris grinned, "Too bad, so sad," She stuck her tongue out at him and giggled.

"You're such a child Kris," He tried to say in a serious tone, but couldn't help but to laugh with her. "I'm going to go re-arrange things in my room..." He trailed off and turned around, walking into his room just across the hall and closing the door.

"Yeah... Like that's gonna happen," Kris said to herself and closed her door, turning to face the room. "What am I going to do with all... This?" She asked as she stared at the old furniture and lace curtains.

While the other two were re-organizing their rooms, Ari was downstairs on the couch. Bored. "What am I supposed to do now?" She complained, even though no one was around to hear. "Guess I could explore the lower level..." She trailed off, getting up and walking down the small hallway and into the laundry room.

Upstairs Kris had decided to keep everything where it was. It was just too much work to move things around, and she really wasn't up to dragging the old, heavy furniture around the room. Instead she had decided to read a book. Of course all the books in the house were old, so she had decided on re-reading a book she had read back in fifth grade. James and the giant peach. So there she sat, on a bed smelling of the elderly, reading a book about a peach. The thought actually made her laugh, "What has the world come to?" That was a good question, and Kris longed for an answer. But there wasn't one.

Across the hall from Kris, Seth had moved some of the darker furniture into a corner. He didn't know where to put it, and he didn't want it where it was. So the corner is where the black chair and bean-bag would stay. He had taken down the posters of broken and bleeding hearts, and was now staring at the dark half of the room. "How do I make this place a bit more... Cheery?" He asked himself. He put the posters back on the walls, but backwards. The white side facing out. It didn't help much, but it would have to do. He moved to the closet with a sigh and swung open the doors. "Wow."

Ari was running out of places to explore downstairs, so she found herself rummaging through the cupboards and cabinets of the bathroom. Under the sink was exactly what she expected, cleaners. But in the cabinet the mirror was mounted on, well she wasn't expecting to find what she found. "So the grand-chick was a goth?" A small smile worked its way onto her lips, "Awesome." The whole cabinet was filled with makeup, and hair products. Most of the makeup consisted of blacks, greys, and shades of purple. There was a hair straighter, gel to protect your hair from being burnt by the straighter, and lots of hairspray. "This," She said as she grabbed some black eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick, "will be so fun."

Seth stared into the closet, half was black, and half light blue. Just like the room. The dark half was filled with black, grey, purple, and bright pink clothing. All had a tattered look to them, "Emo..." He said as he looked over to the light blue half of the closet. Jeans, T-shirts, the normal boy clothing was in this half. "Score!" He shouted a bit too loud.

Kris heard Seth shout, and wondered what he'd found. She folded the page she was on and closed the book, placing it on the bed and walking out of her room, into Seth's. "What did you find Blondie?" She asked, grinning at the nickname.

"Clothing, and lots of it. Looks like the grandchildren were our age," He paused and closed the closet, facing Kris. "I feel bad, if the boy was 14, and had choo-choo trains on the walls at his grandparents house... He was bound to hate it here," He said.

Kris shrugged and turned around as she heard Seth's door open. A girl with long, bone straight black hair, and a pale face coated in thick black and dark purple makeup was standing in the doorway. She was wearing black eyeliner on her inner lids, and outer. She had dark purple eyeshadow on, and way too much black mascara. Her blue halter top dress was the only non-dark thing she was wearing. Wait, blue halter top dress? "Ari?" She shouted, "Is that you?"

The girl nodded and pushed past them both, opening the closet. "I heard you found some Emo clothing?" She grabbed a long grey tank-top and an even longer black undershirt. A black skirt, and grey ripped leggings, "I was going for more of a Gothic look, but these will have to do." She said and turned on her heel, walking out of the room to go change.

Seth and Kris stared at the doorway, then to each other, "Wow..." They said in unison. Kris then took the clothing from the dark half of the closet, "I doubt you'll be using these... So thanks," She smiled and took them back to her room.

Ari had just finished changing when she heard yet another knock on the door. She walked over and opened it, raising an eyebrow at the girl standing on the porch. She was about to scream 'get lost' at the girl, but realized it was Dianna. "Hey Dianna... What do you want?"

Dianna was confused, she'd never met this girl before, yet she knew her name. "I was coming to talk to Arianna..." She trailed off.

"Okay, what do you want?" Ari asked, looking at Dianna.

Dianna looked at the girl for a moment, confused, but soon realized that she was talking to Arianna. Sure, she was coated with dark, heavy makeup and dark clothing, but it was her. "Caine would like a word with you..."

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**Hope you enjoyed that chapter guys :) Some feedback would be greatly appreciated. I have a few idea's for the next couple chapters, but more would be amazing. So if you have an idea, pm me, or leave it in the reviews. All idea's will be considered. Thanks everyone :D PS: If you're interested in seeing the pictures I've drawn for 'Deadly Ties' I have an account on Deviant Art. My user is KitKatKido on there, and I have all my drawing for 'Deadly Ties' on there. I'm working on more as well, so check it out. Sorry for such long authors notes in this chapter, and I'm also sorry it's so short. Next chapter will be longer. I promise.**


	6. Chapter 5

**This chapter is dedicated to aprilthirteen13.**

* * *

Seth walked up to Kris's door, hesitating before he knocked. He was curious as to what she was doing in there, but that's not why he'd come to talk to her. He heard the old bed groan, followed by soft footsteps as Kris walked over to the door.

Kris opened the door and looked at Seth. For the first time in a long time she remembered how close they had been, and still were. "What's up?" She asked casually, Seth often came to her when he needed to talk about something. He trusted her with his problems, and secrets. He actually came to her for advice, even though he was the older one and it would make more sense the other way around.

"I can't find Ari," He said, a worried look in his eyes. "I looked everywhere, I even looked in the shed," He looked down.

Kris put her hands on his shoulders, "Seth," She spoke in as soothing of a voice as she could manage. "She's probably just out on a walk... To calm down, y'know?" He looked up to her, and she flashed him a small smile.

"You're right," He said, "thanks Kris." He loved that, how she could always manage to make him feel better. Even under the circumstances. "Wanna go for a walk?" He offered. He hadn't spent much time just hanging with either girl since the 'poof' and he figured he should have. Like he used to.

"Sure thing Blondie," She smirked and shoved him playfully, darting past him, "Race you to the door!" She was glad he'd invited her on the walk. They were close friends before the 'poof,' and she didn't want that to change. She needed someone like Seth, someone who was always there for her when she was worried, upset, or just plain lonely.

* * *

Dianna lead Arianna into an office in town hall, closing the door behind them. She then looked over to Caine, who was sitting in the chair behind the old wooden desk, he flashed her a toothy grin. She rolled her eyes, "This," She gestured to the goth looking girl, "is Arianna."

"Ah," He said, sounding satisfied by Arianna's arrival. "I've been expecting you."

"So I've heard," Arianna answered casually, admiring her nails painted with black polish. "So, what do you want?" She asked, looking up at Caine with a bored expression on her face.

Caine was shocked, this 'Arianna' girl actually looked bored. Did she have any clue who she was speaking with? Caine, soon to be leader of Perdido beach, no the FAYZ. "Well," He glanced over at Dianna, "I've heard that there was something... Special," He paused, letting the words sink in. "About your bars..." He finished, looking straight into Arianna's eyes.

"This is the first I have heard of this," Arianna said in reply to Caine's question. It had been an indirect question, but it was still a question. "Would someone care to explain to me, what is so special about my bars, and why I haven't been told before this point in time?" She flashed a slightly irritated grin, hiding her curiosity behind faked anger.

Caine looked over to Dianna. "Why you have not been told before now is unimportant, what is important, is that you lose that bratty little temper," The words flew out of Dianna's mouth before she could even think of stopping them. Seconds later Her lungs were burning, her ribs throbbing, and her legs had an unbearable pain coursing through them.

Caine tilted his head to the side, confused at first, it was Dianna's blood curdling scream that made him realize what was going on. He raised his hands slightly, palms towards Arianna, forcing her to make fists with her hands. He assumed that since most if not all power came from kids hands that Arianna would stop, and Dianna would be released from what looked to be a painful, non-contact grasp.

Dianna assumed... No, she hoped Caine would stop Arianna. 'Give him some time' she ordered herself, but she was tired of waiting for him to take action. She couldn't stand the pain anymore, "Make her stop Caine!" She screamed out in agony. Her eyes were open but she saw nothing, she felt as if she was breathing in fire, and being crushed in a car compactor. She felt as if she was spinning rapidly through a black hole, she was slowly losing consciousness. Then, the pain was gone, she wondered if it had ever been there in the first place. She was breathing heavily, and on the ground. She sat up slowly, taking in the scene in-front of her.

Caine had Arianna pinned against the wall, but he had not moved more than two steps from the desk. His hands by his side, his palms facing the wall Arianna was pinned to. A strand of hair fell into his face, beads of sweat on his forehead. Caine had not completely mastered his powers yet, and Arianna was not being easy to control. He had to pin her arms and legs to the wall while keeping a wall between them. Without the wall, Arianna's powers would overtake him with unbearable pain. If he didn't keep her pinned against the wall, not only would she inflict more pain on Dianna, but she would not submit to him. She would have learnt that Caine can be beaten, and he cannot. He would not be beaten, not by some three bar, not by anyone.

"Let go of me!" Arianna screamed, followed by some very colourful words. She tried to thrash free of his grip, but she was held tightly to the wall with an invisible force of some kind. It was Caine.

Dianna was still sitting on the floor when a very confused Drake walked in, "What is going on here?" He walked in slowly, closing the door behind him. "And who's the Emo chick?" He asked, eyeing the girl from head to toe.

Arianna not only saw the tall, gangly boy eye her up, but she felt his eyes on her. "I'm not Emo," She snapped, "I'm gothic." She glared, but Caine already had a wall up in-front of the boy. She could feel the wall, no, that was inaccurate. She could feel a limitation to her power, and she knew it was Caine.

Drake smirked, "And she has a temper," He paused, winking at the girl. "I like her..." He trailed off, peeling his eyes off the girl and looking over to Caine, "Who's she?"

"This," Caine found it difficult to talk and keep the walls up while keeping her pinned to the wall, "Is Arianna." Beads of sweat rolled from his forehead and down into his eyes, he blinked them away. He was weak, he needed to be stronger if he was to become leader. He shook his head lightly, focusing harder and pressing her against the wall with more pressure.

Drake nodded and went quiet, watching as the girl struggled against Caine's grasp. He chuckled at the girls dedication, but knew she would not escape. "May as well give up, Caine wont let you win no matter how strong your powers are, and how long you try." He had taken a wild guess with the powers, and by the look on Arianna's face he'd been right. He saw the pride in her eyes at the mention of strength and power.

Ari rolled her eyes, "Seriously Caine... We get the point, you're the all powerful boss dude..." She trailed off, a pinch of boredom in her tone as she rolled her eyes. She flashed a half smirk at Caine but kept an otherwise serious look on her face as the grip on her wrists and ankles faded to nothing. She leaned her back on the wall, a bored and slightly intimidating look on her face as she went back to examining her nails.

Drake offered Dianna a hand, but Caine used his powers to swat his hand away with such force Drake spun around and stumbled into the wall. He glared at Caine as he helped Dianna to her feet, rolling his eyes and leaving. Slamming the door shut behind him.

"That's Drake by the way," Dianna said as she dusted herself off. "I'm going to read bars at the church," She said, walking out of the room to the church.

"Anyways," Caine said, combing his hand through his hair as Dianna left, "Back on topic." He sat down in the chair behind the mayor's desk, "Please take a seat," He offered politely.

Ari looked up to him, an eyebrow raised, "Nah, I'm good thanks," She snickered and went back to examining her nails.

"Let me rephrase that," Caine spoke through gritted teeth, "Take a seat, now." He waited for her to move towards the seat, but she didn't even look up. Running out of patience he held his palms towards her, dragging her over and sitting her down in the chair. She tried to get up but Caine held her there, watching as she chuckled at his behaviour. He couldn't believe it, this 13-year-old girl was capable of so much more than inflicting pain. She was manipulative, and obnoxious to the point that Caine had to work very hard to keep some of his self-control. He needed someone like this on his side, reputation was everything, and who would mess with a short tempered teen who could inflict pain at will?

"Okay fine," Arianna said, irritation laced into her tone, "what is it you'd like to talk about?"

Caine grinned, Arianna was giving into him, the girl who could inflict pain at will was giving into him. As it should be. "I've spoken with Dianna, and she told me about your bars," He paused, "they have a dark haze around them as I've been told..."

"And that means?" Arianna asked, everything about this conversation was making her crazy. She needed nothing more than a walk on the beach, but that was out of the equation for now.

"It means that you have dark intentions," He held up a finger to silence her in order to continue. "Even if you don't know them yet, you have them." He looked at Arianna, waiting for her to say something but she didn't. "You, Arianna, are like me..." He looked for a reaction, but saw none, "And, when the time comes, I think you'd be a valuable member of my team," He paused momentarily, "what do you say Arianna? Would you team up with me in the future... To help me and the others with dark intentions, such as your own?"

Arianna thought about it for a moment, but as far as she could tell she wouldn't get anything from teaming up with him. And for all she knew he could be lying about the haze around the bars, after all, he didn't seem too trustworthy. She pushed her chair out and stood, "I'll think about it," She said, turning and walking out the door, and down the stairs out to the plaza.

Caine chuckles as she left, "Feisty."

* * *

Seth and Kris had been walking for quite a while now. They'd been down to the marena, and down countless streets. Neither of them wanted to go back yet, the walk was too calming, so instead they found themselves walking up Brace Road onto the highway. They walked in the direction of clifftop, observing the abandoned cars.

"It's so quiet..." Kris spoke just above a whisper, as if trying to be secretive. This earned a chuckle from Seth, "What?" She asked, laughing lightly.

"Nothing," He said, trying to keep a straight face but failing miserably.

She shoved him playfully then broke into a run, shouting over her shoulder, "Catch me if you can!"

Seth shook his head and laughed, "Such a child!" He shouted as he ran after her. His shoes slapping against the pavement as he sprinted to catch up.

Kris giggled with amusement hearing how hard he was trying to catch up. Kris was a little overweight so running wasn't really her thing, but Seth was just a bit more overweight than she was, so he was fun to race. It made her feel accomplished when she beat him, because she never beat anyone.

Seth was so concentrated on running faster to catch up to Kris, he didn't realize she had stopped. He skidded to a stop, but crashed into the back of her. Kris put her hands out to stop her face from hitting the ground just in time, "Are you okay Kris?" He asked, helping her to her feet.

"Yeah," She said, dusting herself off and wincing slightly. She looked at her hands, her palms were skinned from the pavement. "Just skinned palms..."

"I'm so sorry Kris," He said, he felt terrible. "Why is it you stopped anyways.

"I heard something, it sounded like an animal," She said quietly, listening intently. Seth raised an eyebrow but listened at well. He had just opened his mouth to talk when they heard it again. It sounded like a horse, but neither of them were sure. "It's coming from over here," Kris said as she took off down the road at a sprint.

A few minutes later Seth spotted a truck about 100 meters off the road. A livestock trailer attached to it, "Oh no, the trailer's not upright Kris."

Kris's spirit dropped as the horse whinnied, it sounded weak and helpless, "We have to help it Seth... We have to."

Seth nodded and they both headed towards the trailer, the horse continuing to cry out. Once they reached the trailer Seth grabbed onto the latch as Kris hopped up into the side of the flipped horse trailer. She peered in the window and gasped, Seth could see the tears in her eyes. "Don't worry Kris, we'll get the horse out." He had his doubts, but he couldn't tell Kris, so instead he looked into her watery eyes. Thinking calm thoughts as he pulled on the latch. He pulled on it with all his weight, hearing the latch groan and pop. The door to the horse trailer flew open, Seth getting flung back into the dirt.

Krista jumped down off the side of the trailer and ran to the door at the front. She had loaded and unloaded horses many times before, she worked at a stable in the summer, and had a lot of experience with the animals. She yanked the door open with some difficulty and slipped past the bales of hay scattered around the storage compartment. "Someone was moving, or going to a show," She said to herself, there was a set of English tack, a spare blanket, leg wraps, brushes, a few bags of grain, and hay bales scattered around both the storage area, and one of the two horse stalls.

"You okay in there?" Seth asked as he stood in-front of the opening so the horse wouldn't panic and bolt.

"Yeah," She replied, walking up to the horse, seeing it had a halter on, and was tied to the trailer. "Easy," She cooed to the horse, putting her hand out slowly so the horse could smell her. It sniffed her hand a couple times then let out a loud whinny, throwing its head up as far as the lead rope would allow it. "Seth," She called, "can you help me calm the horse down please?"

"Sure thing," He said, focusing on the horse, and willing it to calm down.

The horse lowered its head and Kris put her hand out again, this time the horse snorted calmly as it sniffed her. "Good horse," She said in a soothing tone as she untied the lead rope. "Easy boy, back up now, back up," She cooed, walking towards the horse slowly. The horse stumbled backwards, fighting so stay upright due to the trailer's odd angle.

Seth moved out of the way, but never lost his gaze with the horse. He would not let the large, unpredictable animal hurt Kris because he hadn't kept it calm.

The horse took its last wobbly steps out of the trailer, and onto the warm dirt. "Good horse," Kris said, smiling.

Now that the horse was out of the dark trailer, they could see it in more detail. The horse was wearing a blanket, and had shipping boots on all four legs, as well as a halter, Kris holding the lead rope. The shipping boots the horse wore where tattered and torn, and the blanket was stained with sweat and blood.

"You're in pretty rough shape," Kris said, looking at the nameplate on the halter, "Aren't you Dusty?" The horse's ears perked as she said its name, nickering softly. "Good boy," She said soothingly, "We're just gonna take off these boots, and your blanket." She looked over to Seth, he got the hint and walked up to the horse, undoing the torn boots but making sure to keep the horse calm. As Seth took the boots off, Kris took off the horse's blanket, revealing its golden honey-coloured coat.

"Wow," Seth said, taking a step back and looking at the horse. "What on earth are we going to do with him?"

* * *

**Hey guys, here's chapter 5, as promised. Hope you guys enjoyed reading that as much as I enjoyed writing it. I know the things that are happening seem random, but I assure you that they all come together at some point. Might be a bit longer of a wait for the next chapter, but I'll try to make it worth the wait. Please rate and/or review :D**


	7. Chapter 6

**Sorry for such a long wait between chapters, been busy with summer camps and things I'll skip going into details about. So, here it is, chapter 6. Enjoy!**

* * *

"So Kris... What exactly are you planning to do with this guy?" Seth asked, looking at the sturdy looking palomino horse.

"Well..." She started, rubbing Dusty's neck reassuringly, "I was thinking I could keep him in the shed?" She looked at Seth, pleading with her eyes.

"Kris... Would that really be fair to the horse?" He asked. A horse was a huge responsibility, especially with all this chaos at the moment. Heck, it wasn't even her horse, and how did she plan on looking after it?

"Please Seth? Please?" She would have gotten onto her knee's, but it wasn't safe to be on the ground around a horse, never mind one as big as Dusty. "The shed is much bigger than most stalls, and I'll make sure he gets the care and attention he needs," She hoped this would sell it, but she had a few last resort tricks up her sleeve.

Seth let out a sigh, "No matter what I say you're not going to listen are you? Besides, I guess he'd be safer in the shed."

"Thank you so much Seth!" Her voice was a little too high, making Dusty throw his head up. She ignored Dusty knowing Seth would calm him, instead she hugged Seth tightly.

With a small chuckle Seth hugged her back, Dusty calming behind her. "Just don't make me regret it okay?" He pulled back, flashing a hesitant smile as he glanced over to the horse, then back to Kris.

Krista smiled widely, grabbed the lead rope attached to Dusty's halter and starting to walk. Dusty seemed a little unsure, his head high, and eyes darting around.

"Uhh, Kris?" Seth asked as he walked a bit faster than normal to catch up.

"Yeah?" She replied, glancing over at Seth momentarily before turning her attention to Dusty. He had stopped dead in his tracks, all four feet planted on the pavement. "What's wrong boy? C'mon," She spoke softly, not expecting an answer, slightly surprised by a snort. The snort was followed by him pawing the ground and shaking his head.

"What do you plan on feeding him, and what about exercise? How can you take proper care of him if you have to hide him in the shed?" Seth stopped now as well.

"Seth... I can handle this, you just have to trust me... One thing at a time, okay?" She looked over to him.

Most people wouldn't have been able to understand Kris's emotions, and Seth never used to be able to either, but for some reason he just could. It was hard to explain really, Seth himself didn't completely understand it yet, he could just tell how people where really feeling. He felt odd and out of place forcing people to calm, or relax. What use was it anyways? People could calm themselves if they tried. Why did he end up with such a useless power?

Kris watched as the expression changed on Seth's face. It went from his normal, carefree expression to what seemed like a distressed one. "You okay Blondie?" She asked, studying his expression further.

"Y-Yeah," He said as he snapped out of his thoughts. He started walking again, back towards town. His thoughts threatened to overpower him as he walked, so he concentrated on keeping the horse calm. It was all he could manage for the time being, and even at that he couldn't completely control Dusty.

Kris stood beside Dusty, he still had his hooves planted firmly on the pavement and his head high. "Come on boy, please?" She begged, but the horse wouldn't move. She hesitated a moment before speaking, "Seth, he won't move..."

"I'm not a horse expert Kris, what do you want me to do about it?" He snapped, not bothering to turn around. He could tell how shocked Kris was by the silence and sighed, "I'm going to make sure the coast is clear..."

"B-but... What if he freaks and bolts?" Kris asked, her voice a little shaky. She wasn't scared of horses, especially not Dusty. She could tell that he was a sweet horse deep down, the question had just popped out of her mouth before she had a chance to think.

Seth stopped and turned to face Kris, "You're going to have to trust him before he can trust you... Don't you think?" He paused, glancing at the horse. "I'm not always going to be around when you're with him y'know," He said as he turned and started walking again.

"Well then..." Krista breathed out, turning to face dusty, "This should be interesting..."

* * *

Shortly after arriving at the plaza Ari decided she needed to get away from there. There were too many people, and there was too much noise. She headed down First Avenue, stopping at Ocean Boulevard and looking both ways, "What the heck are you doing?" She asked herself as she walked across the street. "Of course there aren't going to be any cars you fool!" She shook her head and walked across the street and onto the soft white sand of the beach.

"Hey! You cheated!" A younger looking kid screeched to another kid, who was holding a ball.

"Did no-" The boy cut himself off when he saw Arianna. "Uhh... H-hey, Ar-arianna..." He stuttered, backing away, "We were just leaving."

Ari watched as the two boys scampered off and smirked, "Word travels fast," She mused.

Ari stopped, staring out to the open sea. She closed her eyes and just stood there enjoying the silence, although it wouldn't last long.

A few minutes later a little boy who looked to be about 4 years old wandered up to her and grabbed her hand. "Do you know where my mommy is?" He asked as Ari opened her eyes and looked down at him.

She was about to freak out at whoever had interrupted her silence, but when she saw the boy she felt genuinely sorry for him, "Uhh... No."

"Do you know where my mommy is?" He repeated, tugging on her hand now.

"Listen brat," She snapped, "I don't, but... If you go to the daycare... I'm sure someone is there to help you," She said with a little less sting in her tone.

A small smile showed on the boys face, "I know where that is, thank you." He hugged her quickly before turning and running on his short little legs back to the road.

A tiny, almost microscopic smile snuck onto Ari's face as she started to walk down the beach. She had decided it would be smarter to down to the beach near Clifftop because there shouldn't be anyone there. So that's where she went.

* * *

"Well so much for 'I'll make sure the coast is clear'," Kris grumbled as her and Dusty walked down the road. Anyone within ear-shot would hear the scuffing of feet and hooves clacking on the pavement. "Guess he went home..."

Dusty snorted and bobbed his head as he walked along beside Kris. He couldn't understand what she was saying, but the sound of her voice was comforting.

"Silly boy," She teased with a giggle. Dusty nudged her with his nose in response, making Kris laugh.

Kris had no clue what made Dusty decide to follow her, but once Seth left he followed obediently. She didn't really care what the reason was, she was just glad that Dusty decided to follow.

When the two of them got back to Brace Road Kris stopped, "Maybe we should take the long way... To avoid being seen of course."

Dusty just snorted and followed Krista as they walked to the end of access road and turned down and around the houses by the apartment complex.

Hoping no one saw them Kris led Dusty down Grant Street as quickly and quietly as she could. She then took him into the back yard and swung the shed door open, flipped the lights on and led him in. She closed the door behind them and looked around, still holding onto his halter, "That was close..."

Dusty swivelled his ears and snorted, scanning his new surroundings.

"Shh," Kris hissed, "Someone will hear you." She shook her head and looked for a place to tie him until she was sure there was nothing that could hurt him in the shed. She ended up pulling a grease covered rag off a towel rack and tying him to that. "Now be good," She said to him as she turned to face the inside of the shed, "This is going to take... Forever."

* * *

After Seth had taken off to 'make sure the coast was clear' he had run as fast as he could back to the house. He ran upstairs and into his room, slamming the door and leaning against it panting. After her regained his breath he looked around the room. His eyes locked on the black chair he had pushed into the corner earlier and he lunged at it, pushing it in-front of the door.

"Dude... Calm down," He ordered himself, but despite the effort to calm himself he simply couldn't. He was hyperventilating, and he'd broken out in a cold sweat. "Deep breaths... Deep breaths," He repeated to himself as he ripped open the closet.

He stepped into the closet and shut the door behind him, sinking onto the floor. He closed his eyes at tried to calm down again, but couldn't. He opened is eyes and found himself staring at the blue half of the closet, and without warning shot up and flung the closet door open again. He ripped the posters off the wall and stuck them up in the closet so they covered the blue. It was better, not great, but better.

As another wave of anxiety hit he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a baggy full of his mothers antidepressants and anxiety pills. He trudged into the closet and slammed the door behind him, sitting down in the corner and swallowing two of the pills. He was unsure which was which, or what he really should be taking, -if anything at all- but he didn't care. He wanted to calm down, he needed to calm down.

He sat in the closet for a few minutes before he grew impatient. The pills weren't kicking in, so he took a couple more. Wait. More. Wait. More. Wait. And before he knew it there were none left.

"Great," He mumbled, shocked at how slurred the word was. He just started laughing, then everything went dark.

* * *

Ari had just kept walking, and finally found herself at the beach down near clifftop. She sat down on the warm sand and closed her eyes, sighing in content. A few minutes later she decided to lay down. Her arms above her head, her skin heated by the sun. The soft lapping of the water on the shore and calls of birds keeping her from thinking. The sun was shining brightly, and even with her eyes closed it was all she could see. The sand was hot and scratchy, and her makeup was running down her face.

"I wish I could just... Relax," She mumbled, "not hear anything. See anything... Feel anything..." She trailed off. The noises of the beach and the feel of the sand was begging to bug her less. She then realized it was because she couldn't hear anything, and her body was numb. She put a hand up to feel her ear, but felt nothing due to the numbness. Instead she opened her eyes and brought her hand in-front of her face. It was covered in blood.

Suddenly her right eye shut. No matter how hard she tried to open it, she simply couldn't. Then without warning her vision went red, and she started flailing around. Or at least she thought she did, she couldn't tell because she was numb, and her sight was gone as well as the feeling in her body. It was as if she was floating in space. Her vision faded from red to black, and her mind stopped racing. In-fact, it stopped working all together.

* * *

Caine, Drake, and Dianna sat around the mayor's office in an extremely awkward silence. It had been a while since anyone had spoken, and Caine was getting impatient.

"We need her on our side!" He yelled and slammed his fist down on the desk. Everyone jumped.

"Gosh darn-it Caine... Chill!" Dianna snapped back. Earning nothing more than a glare from Caine, she knew he wouldn't hurt her.

A few minutes of tense silence later Caine spoke again, "We need her on our side... Willingly or not."

"Don't you think you're getting a little ahead of yourself Caine?" Dianna asked, "It's not like we're going to overtake the town within the week... Give the girl some time."

Caine simply rolled his eyes and used his powers to open the door, "Get out... All of you! Out, NOW!" He screamed.

Dianna got up and walked out calmly, but Caine had to throw Drake out because he wasn't going to move willingly. After some cussing Drake left to raid alcohol from the houses.

"Good riddance," Caine said as he spun around in his chair. "She's not coming willingly... I can feel it," He mumbled. He had seen the look in Arianna's eyes when she left, it was the 'nothing in it for me' look. "Oh, there will be something in it for you when the time comes..." He mused silently, a sick grin spreading across his lips.

* * *

After cleaning out all the potentially harmful things from the shed Kris had untied dusty and taken his halter off.

"Be good," She warned as she opened the door and slipped out of the shed. After closing the door she walked into the house and headed to the kitchen, rummaging through the cupboards. "Old people always have oats for baking don't they?" She asked herself as she tore apart the cupboards. "Bingo!" She exclaimed as she grinned and grabbed the bag of oats she'd found.

She ran out of the house and slipped back into the shed, "May not be the best food for him, but it's better than nothing." She grabbed the bucket she'd found earlier and dumped the bag of oats in it. "There," She smiled as Dusty devoured the oats, "You'll be back on a normal horse diet soon boy."

After slipping out of the shed again Kris went back into the house to clean up the mess she had made. After the mess was cleaned up she sat on the couch, it was so quiet. It was then she started wondering where her friends were. She got up off the couch and walked outside, looking down at the beach, Arianna was nowhere in sight. With a sigh Kris turned around and walked back into the house.

"Seth..?" She asked hesitantly. Seth had seemed pretty upset when he left her with Dusty on the highway. "You here?" She asked, but got no answer.

Having got no answer she headed upstairs, stopping at Seth's door. It was closed, "Seth..? You in there?" Still no answer, so she tried the door. It opened about an inch, but there was something blocking it from opening it any further. "Seth, I'm sorry..." She tried the apologize and make up approach, still nothing, so she put her ear to the door and listened for movement, breathing, anything.

A muffled groan came from behind the door. So he was in there for sure.

"You okay?" Kris asked, concern laced into her tone. Silence. She tried to shove the door open, but it wouldn't budge. So she ran down the stairs and out of the house, onto the street, towards the plaza. It was unlike Seth to lock himself away like that, even more unlike himself to not answer her.

"Sam? Does anyone know where Sam is?" She shouted as she ran towards the plaza.

"I think he's at his house," A girl with auburn hair and brown eyes answered.

Kris stopped, "Where's that?"

"Down near the corner of Ocean Boulevard and Eastern Avenue I think," The girl replied with a soft smile.

"Thank you so much," Kris said, returning the smile as she took off again.

Minutes later she was running up the steps of Sam's house. She stopped at the door and knocked, "Sam?" She called while panting.

There was some thumping from inside the house, "Coming," It was Sam. He opened the door with an almost bored expression on his face. That changed the minute he saw Krista, "Hey," He smiled.

"Sam! We need to talk!" She panted and pushed past him into the house, "in private."

"Uhh," He said in a confused tone as he shut the door, "Okay... Come sit then..?" He suggested, unsure of what else he should do.

They both sat down on Sam's couch, "So, what do you want to talk about?" Sam asked.

"Arianna went somewhere earlier today and I assumed she was on the beach, but she never came back, and she's not there... And Seth got upset with me earlier today, and then he disappeared for a while, then I went upstairs and his door was blocked shut and I heard him move or whatever, but he wont answer me!" She blurted out, her eyes starting to water.

"Wait, What?" Sam said, Krista had spoken so fast all he heard was 'answer me', "Say that again... But slower."

"Arianna's missing and Seth's locked himself away in his room!" She exclaimed, tears starting to stream down her cheeks. "I'm so worried about them... But I don't know what to do Sam..."

Sam just stared at her for a minute, unsure what to do. When Kris started to sob he moved towards her and wrapped her in a hesitant hug, "Hey, it'll be alright... Don't worry."

When Sam wrapped his arms around her Kris started sobbing even harder, hugging him back tightly.

Sam relaxed a bit when Kris hugged him back, "It'll be okay," He repeated. He kept his arms wrapped around her until she stopped crying. He was about to let go when he realized she had fallen asleep in his arms. "Guess I shouldn't move then..." He whispered to himself. He was reluctant to the idea at first, but found himself smiling as he looked down at her. He then leaned back on the couch, careful not to wake Krista, and fell asleep as well.

* * *

**Hope you guys liked that chapter :) I have to give a HUGE thanks to aprilthirteen13, she was such a big help idea-wise for this chapter. Reviews would be nice, tell me what you're thinking, ask me questions, or give me idea suggestions. Anything :) I will do my best to get back to you or try and fit your idea's in. :D**


	8. Chapter 7

**Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter guys! They mean a lot to me.**

* * *

"Look Pete, a flower," Astrid exclaimed in an attempt to get his attention. She had taken him for a walk in hopes he would put his game down for a minute or two. It hadn't worked, Pete simply walked along with his game in-hand.

It was pretty early, only seven or eight o'clock in the morning. She had hoped that Pete would be more focused this morning, but of course, he wasn't. It was the third day in this – dome – thing.

With a sigh Astrid walked on, staring down in defeat. It was then she noticed something in the dirt. It was a hoof print, "What the..?" She asked herself as she noticed a footprint beside the hoof mark. With a raised eyebrow she studied the strip of road in more detail. All down the side of the road were hoof prints, a set of footprints beside them.

"Petey, come here please," She said over her shoulder as she bent down to measure the length between the footprints. "Petey!" She said a bit louder as she stood up. "Oh Petey..." She sighed and walked over to him, "come on, you're going to spend some time with Mary okay? I need to talk to someone about something," She said, even thought there was no point. She knew Petey wasn't listening, or at least didn't understand.

Pete wasn't making it easy, he was moving slower than a snail,"Please Petey... Come on..." Astrid pleaded. This was going to be a long walk.

* * *

Seth woke to complete darkness, "Where am I?" He asked groggily as he sat up.

It took a while for his eyes to adjust, but when they did he realized where he was. He rubbed his eyes and struggled to his feet.

"How long have I been in here?" He wondered out loud as he opened the closet door, squinting at how bright the room was despite being painted half black.

"Guess I should go apologize to Kris..." He trailed off and started walking towards the door, although he didn't make it far as he stumbled into the chair he had used to block the door.

There was a crack – the sound of glass cracking – as he sat in the chair, the world spinning and his head pounding.

After he could see straight again he stood up, thankful that his headache was all that remained from his time in the closet, although he could feel his depression trying to take over him again.

"Just stop!" He screamed, slamming his fists onto the wall, "Leave me alone," He pleaded. Feeling defeat and overtaken by his depression he sank into the chair, and heard the snapping sound again.

After hearing the sound a second time he got up and flipped the cushion off the chair, and his eyes widened, "So the goth was doing drugs..."

He picked up the bag of needles, there were two broken – probably from him sitting on them – and two unused ones. He was going to throw them out, but he just couldn't. He wasn't thinking straight, his depression was back, and his anxiety was building up. His hands started to shake, and as if he wasn't the one controlling them he opened the bag. He was desperate, his mother's pills had helped him, they had made his mind stop racing. They had allowed him to be calm.

Before he could think twice he ripped open the package and held the needle in his hand, staring at it a moment before jabbing it into his arm and injecting himself with it. After the needle was empty he stared at it, "No... No!" He screamed and threw the now empty needle at the wall. He burst into tears as the needle shattered, grabbing his hair and tugging.

"No, no, no, no, no!" He screamed until his voice cracked, then looked at the only remaining needle. He needed more than anything to calm down, but he knew that this wasn't the right way. He took the needle in his hand, "No... Seth no..." He tried to talk himself out of it. But his body was craving it. He **needed** it. And with that final thought he used his last needle.

He was about to pull it out when everything turned fuzzy, his vision started to fade again, and the ever welcoming silence overtook him once more.

* * *

"Sam, we need to talk," Astrid announced as she let herself into his house. "Sam?" She asked after getting no answer. Shaking her head she walked into the living room and stopped dead.

A girl Astrid didn't know all that well was asleep on Sam's chest, and Sam was asleep as well.

"Sam," She said again, trying to wake him, but waking Krista instead.

Krista opened her eyes slowly and looked up, confused. She was in a house, but not her house, and there was a girl with blonde hair staring at her. She looked down, and jumped up to her feet. She had fallen asleep. On Sam.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Astrid said, a tinge of jealousy running through her.

Kris blushed softly and shook her head, "No, no it's fine... I should be going," She said and started inching towards the door.

Neither of them had noticed Sam wake as they were so focused on each other, "No... It's alright Kris... Stay," He said with a smile. "And what was it you came for Astrid?" He asked. It was strange, if he had woken up any other morning with Astrid in his living room he probably would've been thrilled, but today he felt nothing like that towards her. Although he did feel slight disappointment that Kris wanted to leave.

"Y-you sure?" Kris asked, stuttering slightly.

Sam nodded as Astrid spoke, "I found something rather strange this morning..." She trailed off.

"How so?" Sam asked, tilting his head slightly in confusion.

"Well," She started as Sam and Kris listened, "I was out on a walk with Pete this morning, and I looked down," She paused. "And there in the dirt was a hoof print," She exclaimed, "All the way down the stretch of dirt beside the road there were hoof prints, and foot prints beside them."

Hearing that Krista's stomach dropped, she hadn't even thought about the hoof prints. How could she have forgotten?

"Hoof prints? As in someone was walking a horse down the road?" Sam asked, to which Astrid nodded. "Don't you think someone would have seen someone walking a horse down the street?"

"Not necessarily," Astrid started, but Krista spoke before she could continue.

"Surely someone would have heard or seen if there was a horse being walked down the street, are you sure it was a hoof print?" She asked, trying to get them to dismiss the topic.

Sam and Astrid both looked at her suspiciously.

"What?" Kris asked, trying to hide how nervous she was.

"Do you have something to do with this?" Astrid asked, some sting in her tone.

Krista raised her eyebrows, "Me? Pfft, no."

"C'mon Kris... If you are, you can tell us... There's no reason to hide it," Sam said in a calm, soothing tone.

"I have nothing to do with it... Honest," Kris replied in a firm tone. It was a lie, yes, but she didn't trust Astrid. At all.

Astrid glared at her slightly, but Sam let it go, "Well Astrid... I don't see any reason to worry. So what if there's a horse? Its obviously not causing trouble wherever it is."

Krista snuck out the door before she could hear anymore, running home, and out to the shed.

* * *

Tap, tap, tap, Caine's fingers drummed slowly on the desk. His plan was in jeopardy, Sam was catching on.

"You look like you're busy, I'll leave," Dianna said as she started backing out of the door she had just opened.

Caine hadn't even heard her come in, "Wait."

It wasn't an invite, it was a command. Dianna simply nodded and re-entered the room, "Yes Caine?"

"We're not progressing fast enough," He sighed, "Sam's catching on, and it won't take long for others to clue in too."

"Oh please," Dianna groaned as she rolled her eyes, "You're such a drama queen. It's been what, two days and you're worrying?"

Caine let out a low growl, "Don't forget who you're talking to Dianna," He snapped, glaring at her intensely.

"Whatever," She replied in a flat tone, crossing her arms, "so you want to speed up the plan?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. They both knew it would be risky to speed things up, "You sure?"

Caine simply nodded, a serious look on his face as he spoke in a calm, practised tone, "Bring her to me."

Dianna didn't need to ask who Caine was talking about, it was Arianna without a doubt. She simply nodded and left the room, closing the door gently behind herself as she walked down the hallway and out the door, into the Plaza.

* * *

"That was close," Krista breathed as she leaned on the shed doors, Dusty nuzzling her shoulder. "Missed you too boy," She said happily and stroked his soft muzzle, "I'm gonna get you some real food today, okay boy?"

"Krista?" She heard her name called from outside the shed. It was Sam.

"Great," She muttered quietly, "in the shed!" She raised her voice so that Sam could her. "I'll be right out," She said, then spoke quietly to Dusty, "don't make a sound."

"I could just come in," Sam offered as he stepped towards the shed doors. He was about to grab the handle but the door flew open, making him withdraw his hand.

"No need!" Krista blurted and slammed the shed doors shut once she'd slipped through, leaning on the doors.

Sam raised an eyebrow at her behaviour. She was smiling like an idiot, watching Sam as if he was wearing a clown mask and holding a knife in his hand. He was about to brush it off and consider it none of his business, but then there was a bang from within the shed, "What was that?"  
"What was what?" Krista asked back, "I didn't hear anything," She added lamely. She was horrible at lying - and hiding horses.

"There's something in the shed..." Sam said slowly and took a step closer, causing Kris to throw her arms out to the side against the doors. "What are you doing?" Sam asked, trying to keep a straight face at her ridiculous actions.

"I uh..." She paused, searching for an excuse. "I'm being an air plane! See?" She forced a small laugh and ran circles around Sam, arms out to the side.

Sam couldn't hold back his laughter anymore, "You're so strange Kris," He said, a smile creeping across his lips. Krista stopped, looking relieved that Sam had dropped the subject, but he hadn't, "Now what's in the shed?"

Kris let out a sigh and lowered her arms, "You can't tell anyone... okay?"

Sam nodded and watched as she turned around and opened the shed doors. A very curious golden coloured horse sticking his nose out towards him. "Why did you lie to me..?" Sam asked, a little hurt finding out she hadn't told him the truth.

"It's not that I don't trust you Sam..." She started, seeing the disappointment in his eyes. "It's more like I don't trust Astrid..." She trailed off, looking down in fear of disappointing Sam.

As Kris looked down a wave of guilt washed over Sam, he hadn't meant to upset Krista. "Hey..." He said, placing his hand under her chin and gently lifter her head up so that she was looking at him. "I'm not upset Krista..." He said. It wasn't entirely true, but he forced a smile onto his lips.

A soft blush spread across Krista's cheeks as she looked into Sam's beautiful blue eyes. "While you're here..." She started, "Could you help me with something?"

* * *

Dianna had asked around, and from what she heard Arianna was missing. "Good thing I didn't just barge into her house then," She mumbled to herself as she walked down the street.

Some kids said that she poofed early - impossible. Others said she ran away - possible but unlikely. A few kids didn't even know who she was, or that she was missing.

"They're all so useless," She grumbled, something catching the corner of her eye. Two older looking boys were walking down the street, looking around as if they'd lost something.

She was pretty sure that they went by the names Quinn and Edilio, but she wasn't sure. She also didn't want to ask what ‒ or who ‒ they were looking for, it would take too much time. Instead she followed them from a safe distance, acting casual, but listening to their conversation as well.

"I don't care what the reason is, this is stupid," Quinn complained, "why is Sam sending us on a wild goose chase anyways?"

Edilio groaned and rolled his eyes, "It's not a wild goose chase. We're looking for a missing girl... Arianna is her name."

"So she is lost... And they're looking for her too!" Dianna exclaimed, then clamped a hand over her mouth and ducked behind the side of a building.

"Did you hear something?" Edilio asked as he glanced over his shoulder.

"Huh?" Quinn asked, "I wasn't paying attention... Sorry."

"Of course you weren't paying attention..." Edilio muttered, "you big oaf."

Dianna smirked as she walked down the street, she had information for Caine. Important information.

* * *

"Sure, anything," Sam said with a smile, he truly would do anything for Krista. It was hard to explain the way he felt towards her, he was oddly attached to her. They had only known each other three days, but Sam felt as if he'd known her all along.

"I want to go up to where I found dusty and bring some of his stuff here..." She paused, glancing at Sam, "make him feel a bit more... At home."

Sam nodded, "Sounds like a good plan," It sounded more like a tedious plan, but Sam didn't want to pass on a chance to get to know her more. "Lead the way, and I shall be your slave," He did an imitation of a chained slave as he walked. Joining in as Krista started laughing.

"We might need to take more than one trip..." Krista added in after a moment of comfortable silence. Hoping that the extra work wouldn't chase him off she glanced warily towards Sam.

He looked at her and smiled, "I don't have any plans for today... We can take as many trips as needed." Seeing Krista's smile caused him to smile as well, the effect she had on him was crazy. "I asked Quinn and Edilio to look for Arianna before I came to check on you..." He trailed off, looking at the ground as they walked.

"You did that for me?" Kris asked, a soft blush creeping across her cheeks. She may not have asked why he had come to check on her, but that didn't mean she was dying to ask, although she probably wouldn't.

"Uhh, yeah," Sam said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, "it's nothing really... I just," He paused. "I'd want someone to do the same if my friend went missing..." He covered lamely. The real reason was that he cared about Krista, she was a good friend more or less.

As Krista walked she looked around, an awkward silence had fallen between the two of them and she wasn't going to be the one to break it. She looked up at the sun, it was a bit dimmer than normal, leaving her to think that somehow the atmosphere had changed. Occasionally Krista would get lost in thought, making calculations and predictions in her head, now was one of the times.

"If the sun's brightness was roughly..." She mumbled unintentionally as she calculated. "And now its probably around..." By now Sam had gotten over his embarrassment and was looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "Then the difference would be," Krista made a couple gestures, as if drawing on a chalk board, "Yeah... The atmosphere has changed at least a little..."

"Uh, what?" Sam asked, surprised by her statement, "How can you be sure?"

"Well," She started explaining, but could tell Sam was lost. Instead she re-worded her explanation to something of simpler context, "Math."

Sam was quiet for a minute, "Oh..." He had been surprised by Krista's knowledge. She was similar to Astrid in that way, but in others she was very different. Astrid would have explained it properly, using proper ‒ and confusing ‒ terms, but Krista had stopped and said it in a way he could understand. He liked that about Krista, she was considerate. Astrid on the other hand was ‒ as much as he hated to admit it ‒ quite self centered.

"There it is," Krista exclaimed, pointing to the trailer. "C'mon," She said, her voice filled with excitement as she dragged Sam along behind her, causing a smile to spread across his lips.

* * *

Astrid sat in the love seat in her house, Pete playing his game on the floor. She couldn't stop thinking about Krista, and how Sam treated her. Heck, even the way he looked at her made Astrid furious.

"That little..." She muttered through gritted teeth. Krista was taking Sam from her, that's not how things were supposed to go. She'd had it all planned out; she'd act hard to get, then go for Sam. But of course Krista had to go and ruin that.

"Bitch," She muttered, admiring her nails. "We'll see how that works out for you... Stealing _my_ guy," She finished, a wild grin upon her lips.

* * *

**Sorry this took so long to get up guys! There's just so much going on with school and all that good stuff. I also want to make sure that things in the chapters line up with what's going to be happening later on. I also try to put hints into the chapters. Anyways, enough from me, if you have any questions or recommendations leave them in a review or send me a message and I'll get back to you. Love you guys :) PS: Sorry if my chapters seem all over the place... Everything that's happening is leading up to something guys ;)**


	9. Chapter 8

**I'm quite surprised at all the comments on Astrid :P Hope this chapter clears things up for you all.**

* * *

Astrid woke up with a jolt, "It was just a dream..." She breathed to herself. "Just a dream," She repeated as she looked around the room.

Pete was still playing on the floor, just like he had been when she had fallen asleep. He was still playing his game, everything was like it normally was.

Astrid rubbed her temples and took a deep breath, "I'm not like that..." She said to herself. Why had she dreamed that? Did she like Sam? A little, would she act like that? No, never. It had been a strange dream, but then again everything that had happened in the past three days was strange.

With a sigh she got up and looked out the window, it was almost dark now. She must have fallen asleep after she picked up Pete.

Knowing she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight she walked into her room, sitting down at her desk. Pete knew where to find her if he needed to, but otherwise she would have a nice quiet – child free – work space. The only thing that could ease her mind was work. Math. Calculations. She took out a fresh piece of paper and scribbled down a theory. Now she needed to test it – get lost in it.

* * *

"Quinn!" Edilio exclaimed as he caught sight of a frail girl in the distance. "I think I've found her," He said in a normal voice, Quinn having caught up to him now.

The two jogged towards her, their stomachs dropping when they got close enough to see the gruesome details. "Oh man..." Was all Edilio managed, and Quinn stared.

Arianna's frail body was limp, and whiter than the sugar like beach shy lay on. Her hair was in clumps on the sand and her arms lay above her head at seemingly impossible angles - although they were definitely not broken. Her right eye a deep purple and swollen shut, while her left eye had a large gash from above her eyebrow to her cheek bone. There was a blood stain down the side of her face, and from both ears. The section of sand her head lay on was red, proving she had lost quite a bit of blood.

"Who the hell would do this?" Quinn breathed, his stomach dropping as he noticed Arianna's pearly white cheek bone showing through ripped flesh.

Edilio stayed silent for a minute before answering, "I don't know..." Shaking his head he looked at the ground and closed his eyes, this girl didn't deserve whatever had happened to her.

"Well whoever it was shouldn't be able to get away with it," Quinn said, trying to sound menacing, although it was clear that his stomach was in knots. His face was pale, but compared to Arianna's face it was quite colored.

The two shared a moment of silence – an act of respect – as the waves gently lapped the shore. The lone cry of a seagull sliced through the silence as the boys opened their eyes again. It was then they heard a weak, shallow, raspy breath.

"She's alive," Quinn said, seemingly in a daze. "She's alive!" He exclaimed, repeating himself.

Edilio bent down and placed an ear to her chest, and surely enough there was a heartbeat. It was weak and labored like her breathing, but it was still there, "We have to get her back."

Quinn nodded, glancing up at the sky, It would be getting dark soon. "I'll carry her," He offered, "You run back and tell Dahra."

With a nod Edilio ran off, leaving Quinn to pick up the limp girl and toss her gently over his shoulder. She wasn't very heavy, but still dead weight.

* * *

Krista sat down against the shed panting – exhausted – as Sam sat beside her, huffing slightly. Horse equipment and food was heavy, and it wasn't like they could take it all in one trip. It had taken them almost all day and more than four trips to bring back all of the supplies.

"Thanks for the help," Krista said once she had caught her breath.

Sam shrugged, "No problem, like I said; nothing better to do." He lied, he had lots of things he would have loved to do more.

Krista smiled as a comfortable silence fell between them. After a moment Sam had closed his eyes, resting his head on the shed wall, but Krista couldn't relax. How long had it been since she saw either Seth or Ari? It seemed like a week or more, although it couldn't have been more than a couple days.

Sam opened one eye and snuck a glance at Krista, surprised by the stressed look on her face. Opening both eyes Sam leaned forward a bit, "Whats wrong Kris?" She sighed and shook her head in response. "Come on, you can tell me," He coaxed.

Kris opened her eyes and looked at him, the loon in her eyes revealing her feelings of sorrow. "I'm worried..." She stated, Sam focused on her she continued, "I have no clue where Ari is, and Seth hasn't even come out of his room to eat."

Sam was quiet for a moment before an idea hit him, "Why don't we go have a look in Seth's room?" He offered, having no solution to the Arianna problem.

"It's blocked, I cant get the door open," Kris mumbled sadly in response.

A small smile crept onto Sam's lips, "You may not be able to get it open, but I might."

"You really think so?" She asked, some hope leaking into her voice.

Sam simply nodded and stood up, offering his hand to help her up. After she took it he pulled her to her feet and they walked into the house together. Krista led him upstairs and to Seth's room, the door was open a crack.

Krista took a step back as Sam stepped forward and pushed the door lightly, assessing how much force would be needed to open the door. After a slight nod he leaned his shoulder on the door and shoved, the sound of some sort of furniture scraping along the floor came from the other side of the door.

After the door was open enough for them to slip through Krista pushed past Sam and squeezed through the door. She hadn't meant to be rude, she was just worried about Seth. Once through the door she spotted Seth, tears welling up in her eyes she sprung to his side. Sam not far behind.

"Seth," Krista cried through tears, cradling him in her arms.

He had been laying on the floor, blacked out, a needle in his arm when she came in. The needle was still in his arm and he was still unconscious, but he was now in a sitting position, although not as a result of his own actions.

Sam crouched on the other side of Seth, pulling the needle out of his arm carefully and placing it on the floor. He then used his index and middle finger to check for a pulse on his neck. A small sigh of relief escaped his lips upon locating the boys pulse as he looked at Krista. She was in tears, sobbing, a horrible sight to Sam. "He's got a pulse," He said, trying to comfort her.

Krista sniffled and managed to calm enough to talk, "I thought he was over this... He was doing so well for the past month."

Confused, Sam raised an eyebrow. Although he decided against asking, it was obviously a painful topic for Krista, and right now the most important thing was to get Seth to Dahra. She was the closest thing they had to a doctor, and most likely Seth's best chance of getting over this.

"Come on, lets get him to Dahra," Sam said, waiting for Kris to release Seth before picking him up and carrying him out of the room. He wasn't exactly light, but Sam had other things on his mind. Like getting him medical - or close to medical - help before he could get any worse.

* * *

Caine had been enraged when he heard Dianna's news, but soon realized that he could use it to his advantage. If they found Arianna, he wouldn't have to. Sam and his followers where doing his work for him. Arianna would be found and brought back, and all he had to do was sit and wait.

On the other hand, if he let the other side find Arianna they had a better chance at earning her trust. Therefor they had a better chance at preventing him from reaching his ultimate goal. Ruling over the FAYZ.

Then again, say Arianna didn't want to be found and Sam's side located her. She would be furious, causing the minuscule relations she had with Sam's side to evaporate. Maybe this would work out to be in his favor after all.

A small, almost sadistic smile crossed Caine's rigid features. The plan was simple, yet so very confusing. Without thinking he grabbed a book off the shelf and hurled it towards the window. Watching the glass shatter as the book crashed through it he sighed, stepping calmly towards the window and looking down.

Pieces of glass fluttered to the ground at a leisurely pace, glistening in the sun. The book lay on the ground, splayed open and torn, only a couple stray pages still making their way down, floating effortlessly on the motionless air.

He shook his head as he turned and trudged towards the desk, taking a seat in his chair. He stuck his feet up on the desk, using it as a foot rest. It was then he heard the door open. Glancing up he saw Dianna, a cautious look on her well defined yet gentle face. Her lips parted, and the words Caine had been waiting for, yet dreading at the same time breezed out, "They've found her."

* * *

It had been at least an hour since they had found Seth and he still wasn't conscious. Krista had been at his side since the second Dahra would let her into the room with him. When she had entered Seth was laying on a bed, an IV hooked up to him. The sight had given her hope, Dahra seemed to know what she was doing. Seth was in good hands. Although it tore her to see Seth like this, she was glad that he would be taken care of.

Refusing to leave his side and go home Dahra had retrieved a chair for Kris to sit in. Kris had thanked her and pulled it beside Seth's bed, sitting down.

The sight before him was truly devastating to Sam, he may not know Seth well, but he knew that he had to be going through some pretty tough times to resort to this.

Dahra left, leaving the two to visit in peace. She didn't have many patients - thankfully - so she sat down and continued to read up on illnesses and their treatments.

Sam hesitated a moment before walking towards Kris, standing beside her while looking down at Seth's pale body. Hearing a soft sniffle he shifted his gaze to Krista. There were tears in her eyes, threatening to stream down her cheeks at any minute.

Kris felt Sam's gaze on her, and struggling to keep herself composed she took Seth's cold hand in hers and rested her forehead on the side of the bed. It wasn't the first time Seth had done this, but she had never seen him this bad before. _What if he doesn't make it this time? _She found herself wondering.

Wanting to comfort her but unsure of how Sam placed his hand oh her back, it was then that she burst into tears. A frown tugged at his lips as he rubbed her back gently, "Shh," He murmured. With that Kris began to sob uncontrollably, her body shaking. He bent down so that he was at her level and pulled her into a hug, holding her close. "It's okay," He spoke just above a whisper, "it'll be alright."

Krista let go of Seth's hand and clung to Sam, losing track of time as she sobbed. Finding comfort in the warm embrace. Eventually she calmed herself, and Sam pulled back. She blushed lightly when he looked at her, smiling reassuringly as he brushed a tear off her cheek with his thumb.

"I'll let you two be for a bit," He offered, earning a slight nod from Kris. He stood up and walked from the room, glancing over his shoulder at them before walking over to Dahra, "How's he look?"

Dahra folded the page she was on and closed the book, looking up at Sam with a grim expression on her face. "Not too good, he's barely hanging on," She said with a sigh, a frown spreading across Sam's lips.

"Oh," Was all he said as he took a seat beside Dahra as she went back to reading her book.

An hour must have passed, and Sam yawned. Getting up out of his chair he turned and headed towards the room Seth was in to tell Kris that he was going home, but before he could get there he heard the main door fly open and hit the wall. Surprised by the loud entry of whomever it was he turned around, raising an eyebrow at the sight before him.

Edilio was standing in the doorway, drenched in sweat, his hair flat against his head. He was panting like mad and his eyes were wide. Before he had a chance to explain himself Dahra shot up from her chair, forgetting about her book and guiding him to a seat. She crossed the room and grabbed a facecloth, then returned to Edilio and dabbed his flushed face.

After a minute of heavy breathing Edilio spoke, "Arianna," He paused to cough.

"What about her?" Sam demanded from where he stood.

After composing himself the best he could Edilio looked at Sam, "Found her. Quinn's got her, he's not far."

Before what Edilio had said could register Quinn appeared in the doorway. He too was covered in sweat from head to toe, but unlike Edilio he had a girl slung over his shoulder. His shirt was smeared with blood; the girls blood. Arianna's blood.

"My gosh," Dahra gasped as she darted to Quinn, "Come," She instructed. "We've got to get her to a bed," She said as she led Quinn down the hallway and into the room beside Seth's. Quinn set Arianna down on the bed before stumbling over to the chair in the corner and collapsing into it. Dahra looked the girl over, then proceeded to do what she could, although it wasn't much.

"Where did you find her?" Sam asked, shocked at the condition of the three.

Edilio wiped the remaining sweat from his forehead, "Down on the beach near clifftop."

"How the hell did she get there?" He snapped, although all Edilio did was shrug. Sam sighed in frustration, sitting himself back into the chair he had vacated shortly before Edilio arrived. After a few minutes of tense silence Sam heard soft footsteps and instantly knew who it was. Krista. Turning his head he saw her standing in the doorway that lead to the main hallway, her eyes were puffy and red.

"Hey," She whispered in a quavery tone.

"Hey," Sam said in reply as She walked towards him.

"May I?" She asked quietly, gesturing to him.

It took a moment for the request to register, and Sam nodded. Kris then sat down gently on his lap and he wrapped his arms around her in a hug. The embrace made Sam's heart skip a beat, though he was sure Kris was simply upset and needed the comfort of a friend. He inwardly sighed, knowing that the embrace most likely meant nothing to Kris, where it made Sam's heart race.

Resting her head against his solid chest she mumbled, "What was all the racket?" When Sam didn't reply right away she looked up at him. Seeing the almost distressed look on his face she began to worry, "What is it?"

He contemplated lying to her, but decided it was pointless, "They found Ari." Sam watched as Kris's eyes widened and she went to jump up off his lap, but he held onto her. "She's in rough shape, Dahra needs some time with her," He explained when she looked at him questioningly. She let out a sigh and gave into Sam, resting on his chest once again.

"I'm gonna leave..." Edilio trailed off awkwardly. Sam simply nodded as he turned and walked out of the building, closing the door behind him and heading home.

After the girl was stable Dahra took a step back. She had been unable to do anything for the gash, but she placed a baggie of ice wrapped in a towel on her eye to bring down the swelling. She also wiped the blood from her ears gently, and hooked her up to IV. It was the best she could do with her limited supplies and knowledge. With that she turned to Quinn, "Are you hurt?" She asked gently.

"No," Quinn groaned, "Just tired." He finished, getting up and walking out of the room for a glass of water. He then decided there was no point in him staying and headed home to have a shower and get some much needed rest.

Dahra walked out of the room and down the main hall, turning into the small lobby. Slightly surprised by the sight in-front of her she smiled, "You can go see her now if you wish."

Krista sprung up off Sam's lap and bounded down the hallway, into Ari's room. She ran up to the bedside and looked down at her friend, tears welling in her eyes once again at the sight. Ari was in even worse condition than Seth, sending her into hysterics again.

Sam came in the room and walked up behind Kris, wrapping her in a hug. Resting his chin lightly on her head he inhaled deeply, today had been quite stressful for everyone it seemed. First he and Krista had trekked back and forth lugging horse supplies, then they'd found Seth. The day just kept spiraling downwards from there, although it seemed to have leveled out now. Or so he hoped.

Krista closed her eyes as she sobbed yet again, this time at the possibility of losing Ari. Possibly both her and Seth. The thought was too much for her to handle as she wept. Sam holding her supportively, she cried until she had drained most of the energy from her body.

Once she had stopped crying Sam went to release her from the embrace, but she fell forwards when he did so he caught her and swept her up in his arms. She was no longer awake, so he carried her over and set her down on the other bed in the room. She must have cried herself to sleep, but Sam didn't mind. Unsure of whether or not she would want him to leave he sat down a chair that was sitting in the corner. Watching over her until he too fell asleep.

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter :) I quite enjoyed writing this one. If you've got any questions or suggestions please leave them in a review. The story will (or should be) getting more interesting soon, and maybe you'll learn some things about the trio's past ;) Stay tuned, I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I can manage.**


	10. Chapter 9

**Okay, just so this chapter doesn't confuse everyone, this is a chapter about how Kris, Ari, and Seth met way before the FAYZ. Oh, and just warning you, there may be some swearing in this chapter. Enjoy.**

* * *

"Jim, I'm not so sure we made the right choice anymore," Carrie said, looking at her husband worriedly from her spot on the couch.

"And which choice is it that you're talking about?" He asked, taking a seat in the recliner. Grabbing the remote and turning the TV on as he continued, "You mean you've decided that you want to move after all?"

Carrie shook her head, "No, it's not that."

"Then what is it?" Jim asked, turning his attention to her as a commercial interrupted the program he'd been watching.

"Well," She started, glancing at the staircase to make sure Krista hadn't come down for anything, "I'm having second thoughts on Krista."

The faster than normal commercial ended and Jim turned his attention back to the show as he replied, "Oh, so you don't want her working at that barn after all? I'll take care of it."

"No," Carrie said, getting slightly irritated. "I'm not sure we made the right choice in adopting her," She said in a more controlled tone, sighing softly, "She doesn't seem happy here, she hasn't made any friends, and she's making no effort at all in school."

Tension filled the room as Jim clicked off the TV and turned to face his wife, "What do you mean? I thought you fell in love with her at first sight."

"I did, and I still lover her so, so much," Connie explained, finding it difficult to talk as tears welled up in her eyes, "I just-" She stopped herself, rubbing her hands on her face. After a moment of silence she spoke again, mumbling through her hands, "I just want what's best for her, even if it means we don't get to see her that much."

It took a moment for the words to sink in, "What are you getting at?"

"I think that maybe it's best we send her to private school," She replied slowly, taking her hands away from her face.

Before Jim had a chance to respond they heard soft but quick footsteps up the stairs. Tears started to stream down Carrie's face now knowing that Krista more than likely heard the majority of their conversation, and Jim got up out of his chair with a sigh.

"I'll go talk to her," He said softly, resting a hand on Carrie's shoulder briefly before heading upstairs. Krista's door was locked when he got there.

"Krista?" He asked gently, "Can I come in?"

"Just leave me alone!" She screamed at him, in tears on the other side of the door. "Please," She begged, "just go!"

Jim shook his head, but left her in peace, going back downstairs to where Carrie still sat on the couch. Taking a seat beside her and wrapping an arm around her shoulder he spoke, "As much as I hate the idea, I think you're right."

* * *

The phone rang, and Stephanie ran to answer it. With her hair still dripping wet from the shower and only a towel around her body she picked it up as it was ringing a final time before it would have gone to the answering machine.

"Hello?" She said, a polite smile forming on her lips out of habit. The smile quickly vanished as she heard Mr. Crawfrey – the principal at her daughter's school – on the other end of the phone.

"I'm afraid Arianna has gotten herself into quite a bit of trouble, we would like you and your husband to come in as soon as possible," His voice was stern, annoyance laced into every word.

"My husband will be unable to make it, but I can be there in half an hour," She explained in a disappointed tone, "I'm sorry about all the trouble she must have caused."

With that she hung up the phone and retreated to the master bedroom. In the closet she found a pair of black slacks and a white blouse, pulling her hair up into a messy bun she made her way to the door where she pulled on a pair of black heels.

Grabbing her purse she pulled the door open and stepped out, closing it firmly behind her before heading to her little black car.

After driving to the school she parked, turned the car off, and stepped out. Locking the car as she walked towards the front entrance, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear before pushing the doors open and stepping into the main foyer of her daughters school.

"That girl can't go a day without causing trouble," Stephanie muttered to herself as she strode over to the office. Once inside the receptionist looked up from the file she held in her hands, a stern look upon her face.

"You must be Arianna's mother," She said, putting negative emphasis on 'Arianna' as she dropped her gaze back to the file. "You ought to teach that girl a lesson before she kills someone next time," She said in her nasally voice, waving Stephanie into the principal's office where Arianna and Mr. Crawfrey would be waiting.

Getting a gut feeling that Arianna had pushed it too far this time Stephanie strode as calmly as she could into the office.

Upon entering she could see Mr. Crawfrey reclined in his leather office chair, feet on the desk, his phone to his ear. Arianna on the other hand was sitting slouched in one of the two chairs that sat on the other side of Crawfrey's desk. She had a less than pleased scowl on her face, or what you could see of her face at least, as her long dark hair fell in-front of both eyes leaving only her nose and a fraction of her now cruel smirk to be seen.

Crawfrey took the phone away from his ear briefly, "I'll just be a moment, in the mean time, take a seat if you'd please." With that he put the phone back to his ear.

After sitting down came a long wait, and whatever Crawfrey was sorting out was serious by the sounds of it. As Stephanie considered turning to ask her daughter what she had done Mr. Crawfrey hung up the phone, pulling his feet off his desk and sitting in a more orderly manner.

"I have a serious issue to discuss with you, Mrs. Darkelle," He started, shuffling some papers around on his desk. "You see, there was an accident in the wood shop today," He paused, examining some paperwork he held in his hands now before looking up to see her reaction.

"Oh no, please tell me no one was hurt," Stephanie breathed, shaking her head in disbelief.

Upon seeing her reaction, Crawfrey softened his voice before continuing. "I cannot say for sure how badly Mr. Cambell was hurt, but, it was bad..." He trailed off, shaking his head. Ben Cambell was a close friend of his.

Her gaze fell to the ground she dared to ask, "What happened?"

"Well, we don't know all of the details, but it seems Arianna tampered with the band saw, causing it to spark," He said in a gentle yet hurt tone. "Now, normally, this wouldn't have been an issue. The machines spark all the time, and anything flammable is kept out of reach of the saws, but, it seems someone had soaked Mr. Cambell's gloves with Gasoline before class started."

Jerking her head up Stephanie stared at the principal, a horrified look on her face. "Are you sure it was my Arianna?" She asked, finding it hard to believe that her own daughter could have done something so horrible, but she only had to look at Ari to know the answer.

Arianna had not moved even an inch from where she sat, although her cruel smirk turned into a sadistic grin.

"I'm sure you know as well as I do it was in-fact Arianna, Mrs. Darkelle," Crawfrey stated, "Now, I'm sorry but we just cannot handle this any longer... I'm going to ask you to enrol your child elsewhere."

Stephanie nodded, "I understand your reasoning... Do you have any recommendations?"

"Yes actually," He replied, picking a stack of pamphlets up and handing them to her, "These are the schools I think would suit your daughter best, of course they are all private schools. Out of them all I think Coates Academy would be the safest route."

"I will consider it, thank you." She said, standing up. "Come on Ari, you're father will want to talk with you when we get home," She continued in a stern voice, the two of them walking out to the car together.

"You do realize I don't give a shit what Brian has to say, right?" Arianna asked in a taunting tone as she put her feet up on the dash.

Sighing deeply Stephanie ignored her remark, private school was sounding better by the minute, but Coates was out of the question. Kids who went there often never had their problems resolve, or so it seemed.

* * *

"Come on Seth," His father said sternly, pulling him by his arm through the doors and up to the receptionist.

"I already told you. I don't want to go to a stupid private school!" He exclaimed and tugged back, but his father tugged him forward even harder.

"Your name sir?" The girl behind the counter asked in a sweet and welcoming tone.

"I'm here to drop off Seth Greely," Was his reply, still gripping his son's arm tightly.

Entering something into the computer she read the file off the screen, "Seth Greely, male, enrolled into Red Wings Academy due to drug abuse and severe depression as well as anxiety problems?"

"I don't have drug problems," Seth muttered.

"That's the one," His father said in his deep yet patient tone, ignoring his son's comment.

"Okay, Richard will take him to his room while I go over a few things with you," She said with a smile as a tall man came from behind the desk, escorting Seth to the room he would be sharing with another student he had yet to meet.

"Now, as you know, Red Wings Academy is well known for it's ability to break kids of their bad habits, and its high standard of education, as well as it's low price," She paused, grabbing a few sheets of paper and stapling them together. "In the event of an accident, the school cannot be held responsible," She said as she passed him the forms. "I understand you know this already?"

He nodded, reading over the forms at the same time, then signing where it was needed. "Thank you, I will be in touch," He said with a small smile as he passed the forms back before turning to leave, hoping Seth would settle in well.

* * *

Arianna had been escorted to her room shortly after her parents had gone to the receptionist. Now she stood in the doorway of her room, grinning at the thought of how many different things she could do to destroy it.

The room was a decent size, had a plain beige carpet and white walls, as well as two windows that overlooked the campus. The walls were bare, and there were two beds, one on the left side of the room, the other on the right. The beds had beige blankets, white sheets and pillows. There was a small dresser at the end of each bed. There was also a bedside table with one drawer, a lamp and an alarm clock. There was a door to the left of the entrance, presumably leading to the bathroom.

Walking into the room with her only bag slung over her shoulder she plopped down on one of the beds – the one to the right of the room.

"I could get used to this," She mused to herself as she pulled her bag into her lap and started unpacking her few belongings. Her phone – which she wasn't supposed to have – her ipod, her pocket knife – which she also shouldn't have – and a picture of her older brother. She hadn't brought any clothing with her because the school supplied all of it. Her dresser was already full, it's small drawers filled with the pieces of the school uniform, as well as school issued pyjamas.

Holding her most prized position – the framed photo of her older brother – she sighed. Her older brother had been her best friend. He had always been there for her, he protected her. Whenever someone had hurt her feelings, he would go talk with them about it, purposely flexing his muscles or cracking his neck to scare them. He had let her tag along with him, and because of that she had been one of the popular kids. But when her brother graduated and went off to war, all that came to an end. She had no place anymore, because she was nothing without him. She was picked apart by the other kids, and the only way she had gotten out of it was by being worse than them. It had never been her intention to become so cold, but he had left her no choice. It was because of him she was like this, yet, she still loved him more than anyone or anything in the world. They exchanged letters as much as possible, but being in war doesn't leave much time for communication.

Placing the frame gently on the bed side table she shook her head, "Why did he have to go?"

"Why did who have to go?" Came an unfamiliar from within the doorway.

Ari turned quickly as she saw the girl in the door. Her brown wavy hair falling elegantly over her shoulders, her piercing blue eyes looking at her expressively.

"Who are you?" Ari asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"My name is Krista," She said with a smile, still standing in the doorway, "May I come in?"

"No," She replied in a flat tone as she pulled the drawer in the nightstand open and placed the rest of her things in it.

A small frown appeared on Krista's face at the girls behaviour, "Whats wrong?"

"Nothing, I just don't want to share my room with some like... You," Arianna replied, closing the drawer looking at the girl in the doorway again.

"Listen, I don't know why you were sent here, or why you're acting like this, but this is my room too," Krista said firmly, taking a couple steps into the room.

"I don't care, go to the receptionist and get a new room, just leave!" Ari snapped.

Krista took a few more steps into the room before replying flatly, "Make me."

That was the last straw, Arianna jumped forward and ran at Krista.

Kris started backing up quickly, she was out the door and into the hall when Arianna tackled her and pinned her to the wall.

"Say it again!" Ari screamed into Krista's ear, holding her tightly to the wall while she tried to squirm free.

"Make me!" Krista shouted back in a rebellious tone. Struggling for breath as Ari's hands found her neck and tightened, holding her to the wall only by her neck now as she put all her strength into choking her.

Krista grabbed Arianna's hands and tried to pry them off her neck, and although she couldn't pull her all the way off she got them to the point where she could still breath, "Let me go!"

The two had been so busy going at each other that they hadn't notice the boy from the room across the hall come out.

"Break it up," Came the voice of a boy they had never met before.

"No!" Arianna screamed at him, tightening her grasp on Krista's neck again.

Krista started to feel light headed, and just when she thought she was going to pass out someone pulled Arianna off of her. It had to have been the boy who had appeared in the hallway. She tried to stand up on her own, but without the support of the wall the hallway did a spin and she started falling.

After the boy had pulled Arianna away from Krista she had calmed down, and now she stood watching as the boy caught Krista in his arms.

"Are you okay?" Came a smooth, masculine voice. Krista blinked a couple times, looking up into the soft green eyes of whoever had caught her.

"I-I think so," She stuttered slightly, a soft blush spreading across her cheeks, "who are you?"

"My name's Seth Greely," The boy replied, smiling as he helped Krista to her feet, "and what about you?"

"My name's Krista," She mumbled softly.

Once Krista was back on her feet Seth let go of her, and turned to the other girl, the girl with the long, much darker hair, "And what is your name?"

"Arianna," She muttered, narrowing her eyes at him.

_ So that's how the three met, there in the hallway, in the middle of a fight, in a private school called 'Red Wings Academy'. _

_ They were all there for different reasons, and they were all very different, yet they would soon find out that they all had much in common. _

_ In the years that followed at the academy they grew close, very close. They were inseparable. They spent ever minute they could together, they shared stories, they shared thoughts, and they shared secrets. In no time at all it was as if they had been together their whole lives._

_ They had most of their classes together, and the three always paired up to do their work. The three together would always find the answer, and it was through schoolwork that they learned to work together, and even trust each other. _

_ Both Seth and Arianna's parents lived too far from the academy and didn't have enough money or time to come out and visit, but Krista's parents were close enough that they only had a four hour drive between them and the school. _

_ Although visitors weren't allowed often without invitation, they could come any time with a written letter from their child saying they wanted to see them. Of course Krista was still a bit angry with her parents – well adopted parents – so the only time she asked to see her parents was when she and her friends needed to get out of the academy for a project, and even then the talk was minimal. _

_ And it just so happened to be one of those rare times she had sent her dad a letter asking him to take them somewhere for a project that the FAYZ happened..._

* * *

**Hey guys, sorry it's not as long as I planned it to be, but I had promised a few of you that I'd have the chapter up today. Hope you all enjoyed learning about how they met. Reviews are greatly appreciated. :D**


	11. Chapter 10

**First of all, I want to just say thanks to all the soldiers that fought for or are fighting for our country, lest we forget. Second of all, I had people who wanted a chapter on the outside, but I also had people who wanted to get back to the kids, so, this chapter shall have both! :D**

* * *

"One minute I was checking to see if the car had run out of coolant, and the next, I was standing on the beach," Jim stated, finding it hard to look into the camera. "But I wasn't the only one," He added in quickly, "There were people around me, and, well we were all staring at the..." He trailed off, searching his mind for an appropriate word, "dome."

"I see," The reporter said, jotting down notes in a hurried fashion, "Now, is there anything else you would be willing to share about your," She too paused, "Ordeal..?"

"Well, I suppose I could tell you all one final thing," He said, not really there, but instead reliving those insanely confusing moments, and the terrifying and stressful moments that followed. "After the initial shock faded, I reached out to touch the... The dome," He said, pausing once again as the fresh memories burned his mind like pouring alcohol on a raw wound.

"Go on," The reporter urged, listening intently, her pen at the ready.

"Well... It was like being burnt, so I pulled my hands back, and I thought they would at least be red, but, they looked as normal as ever," Jim continued, clearly reliving his confusion, "It was like torture to touch, but It had the appearance of thick fog, like if you pushed hard enough you could get through it, but the harder you try, the more it hurts."

The reporter could see the tears in his eyes, and soon the whole world would see them too, but that's not what mattered. What mattered is that the people of the world knew what was going on, or at least knew of it, because no one really _knew_ what was going on for sure.

"Well, that certainly is mysterious," The reporter looked at the camera, a well practiced smile plastered to her lips, although she too was a bit shaken up by this freak event. She had a child in there too, her daughter was only ten years old. "Well, that's it on the Perdido Beach freak accident currently being called 'The Dome'," she concluded as the camera's clicked off and she turned to Jim, who seemed to be struggling with his emotions.

"How you holding up?" She asked him, placing her hand supportively on his shoulder.

Jim shook his head slowly, "I miss them... I miss them all." Looking down at the ground he continued, "I miss my daughter, Krista, but I also miss her friends. I miss seeing how happy Krista was with Arianna and Seth." A tear ran down his cheek. He wiped it away and looked up at the woman, guilt and regret in his voice, "And I can't help thinking it's all my fault they're in there."

* * *

It had been roughly a week – not that Krista was keeping track – since what they were now calling the 'FAYZ' happened, and Caine had officially decided that he was the all mighty king. Or at least that's how it seemed, as he had Kris, Sam, and a bunch of other kids going around looting houses.

Kris was in a group with Sam, Quinn, herself, and a few others. They were currently checking their third house for the day, and Kris was in charge of looking for 'feminine heath products'.

"You guys are a bunch of wusses, you know that right?" She said, rolling her eyes at the stares she was receiving from the boys.

They quickly busied themselves with other little tasks rather than acknowledge her comment.

"This is going to be a long day," She groaned.

* * *

"I've told you a million times, I don't know what happened, I was just on the beach, then... This!" Ari exclaimed, gesturing to her face. "Now if you'd please I'd like to leave," She said through gritted teeth.

"I think it would be in your best interest to stay another day," Dahra replied calmly, "that wound is looking a bit better now that it's been stitched up, but it wouldn't be hard for an infection to find it's way in there."

"Look, I'm leaving. Permission or not," She growled, "I suggest you stay out of my way."

Knowing now that it was out of her hands Dahra stepped to the side, allowing Ari to pass, and avoiding the pain of Arianna's gaze. In the past few days she had experienced that a few times, the worst being when she was stitching up the wound on her cheek so that it would heal. Arianna had made it so that every time she did a stitch, she would feel the pain on her own cheek as well. It was all she could do to finish the job.

Arianna was clearly getting to know her powers better, and maybe even growing stronger – if that was possible.

"Wonder how she'll deal with Caine ordering everyone around now," She wondered out-loud, walking to the door of Seth's room and knocking softly before pushing it open and stepping in, "How are you feeling today, Seth?"

"Fine," He grumbled, he was sick and tired of being cooped up in this little room.

"No cravings? Withdrawals?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, she could see his hands shaking from here.

"No." Was all she got in reply, a flat, angry 'no'.

"When is it that you started... this?" Dahra asked, trying a new approach, "and why?"

Seth crossed his arms and stared at her.

"Seth, I'm not trying to dig into your personal life, I'm trying to get all the facts so that I can help you," Dahra said then turned for the door, "but if you don't want to tell me – if you don't want help – there's nothing I can do."

He sighed, "Wait."

Dahra turned to him, leaning against the door, "Yes Seth?"

"My parents were always fighting," He started, lowering his head and looking down at the bed sheets, "My Dad was always at work, and when he came home all he seemed to do is complain about how no one but him worked hard enough. He had everyone working themselves too much, my poor mom – who has MS – couldn't handle all the work, and it killed me to see her in pain," He paused, taking in a slightly quavery breath. "I started doing some of her work around the house as well as mine, but then my father started harping on me about my low grades, and gave me a study rubric."

Dahra, while listening intently sat down in the chair that was sitting at the foot of his bed as he continued to tell his story.

"I didn't want my mom to go back to being overworked, so I did the chores and studied late into the night. Most times I fell asleep over my textbooks. I didn't really mind all that, I mean, besides constantly being tired I was fine, life was good. But then I started getting bullied at school, and every day it got worse. It went from being called names, to being beat up after school, and that plus everything else just pushed me over the edge I guess... After a few months I was ready to try just about anything to make it all stop, or at least make it less painful. A couple times I even thought about," He paused, tears were streaming down his face now, "I even though about suicide a couple times... But I'd never leave my mom alone, because my father wasn't always there for her... For any of us."

Tears were welling up in Dahra's eyes now as well, and to think she thought she had it rough back when everyone was living normal lives.

Seth looked up, wiping his eyes, "You know, I feel better now that I've got that off my chest. Thank you Dahra," He said, flashing a smile at her that made her heart melt.

"No problem," She said returning his smile, "Just hang in there a bit longer Seth, and you'll be free to go in no time..." She trailed off, she couldn't stop thinking about the rough things this boy had been through, it was a miracle he was even alive based on that story alone, never mind his most recent over dose.

* * *

Abby was a curious ten-year-old, and the FAYZ had not affected that. She was still as curious as ever, and with adults out of the way she could explore all day and night. She was enjoying this, although she did miss her mom.

She – like all the other kids – had been taken to Diana to have her bars read, and to her surprise she was a two bar. She didn't believe it at first, she hadn't noticed anything strange about herself. No powers. But as the week went on she started seeing them, the phantom animals. Or so she called them.

The phantom animals were strange and wonderful creatures, the only sad part was that no one could see them but her. She and her older sister Renae had been down on the beach one morning, and one of the phantom animals had been there too, but when she told her sister about how wonderful it was to finally see one up close, she just wrote it off as her imagination. But it wasn't her imagination, you couldn't touch things you imagined.

That particular phantom animal appeared to be a cat, slender and small framed, yet it had the paws and shaggy fur of a grizzly bear, its long claws like razors protruding through it's flesh. What really stuck out about this phantom animal was its teal blue coat, and violet eyes that seemed to stare into your soul. Occasionally it would wander up to where the beach sand turned into the grass of town, but when it placed its foot down on the rich green grass it would turn and run into the water. It was as if anything but the sand beneath it's feet burned, and only the water could relieve it's pain.

It didn't take Abby long to lose herself, watching the animal intently as it strolled leisurely across the shoreline. It didn't seem to know she was there, so she whistled.

The animal's ears swiveled, and it's tail flicked irritably.

She whistled again, her sister now looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

The animal reluctantly looked Abby's way, staring her down with its cold, piercing eyes. It lifted its head and let out a strange sound, it was a roar, but a meow at the same time. Whatever the call meant it charged at Abby.

She wasn't scared, this animal was no bigger than a Great Dane, and it's slender frame suggested that it wouldn't be that hard to overpower. The only obstacles would be it's claws, and teeth.

Abby stood her ground, and the animal stopped in-front of her. Baring it's teeth it let out a snarl, and when she narrowed her eyes at it, the animal dropped its head and tucked its tail between its legs.

Abby had grinned at that, and reached her hand out. Just as she felt the animal's shaggy fur underneath her fingertips it backed out of her reach, and returned to its wandering. She spent the remainder of the day observing the creature after that. Her efforts revealed much about this animal.

This phantom animal – which she was calling Auquaticat – had many interesting abilities, but they came with a drawback as well. One thing it could do was walk on water, further expanding its territory, although if someone around it wished something, it had to grant it. This could be both an advantage, and a disadvantage. For example, Abby – out of curiosity – had wished for a fish, resulting in the creature having to go out and hunt one down. But, Abby was sure that certain wishes would amuse this intelligent creature.

It didn't take long for Abby to become bored of the Aquaticat, and the Aquaticat spent less and less time around Abby, and more time roaming the ocean. Clearly this was a solitary animal, so Abby decided to wander through town to see if she could find more phantom animals, and she did.

It had taken a while to find another phantom animal, and she had almost given up when she noticed something strange about a cat that was wandering down the street. At first she hadn't noticed, but after further examination she discovered that the cat had a strange glow around it. Eventually Abby realized that when the white-blue aura around the cat was present, only she could see it. The cat could also teleport if it wished to do so, making it difficult for Abby to keep track of it.

The next few days were filled with restless exploration for Abby, as well as fascinating discoveries.

Each phantom animal seemed to have it's own preferred territory, the cat in town, the Aquaticat on the beach or ocean. But they weren't the only phantom animals, there were at least two more she had seen. She was calling them the Electric Slug, and the Phoenix.

The Electric slug was hard to see, and it was impossible to make out any details. All Abby knew was that the creature was incapable of leaving the barrier, and it's body constantly had the barrier's electric energy running through it. Although Abby had never seen it up close, if she looked hard enough she could almost always see it, just like she could see the barrier from anywhere she stood.

No matter how hard she tried she could not see the illusion of the ever continuing ocean, or the blue sky of day that the kids around her would talk about, all she could see was the hazy barrier, and the electric currents running through it.

The Phoenix was the last phantom animal she had discovered so far. It was a large red bird, it's feathers flowing elegantly behind it like flames devouring the air around it. It's wings easily spanned the length of Sam's height, and the bird itself was much longer. It's feathers sparkled in the sunlight, and glowed softly under the light of the moon. The bird seldom cried out, but when it did, the soft melodic voice of the bird lulled Abby's mind into a deep sense of peace. Though it normally glided effortlessly on the still air on it's muscular yet frail looking wings, it would occasionally cut through the air at tremendous speeds, causing the air to bend around it, curling and twisting elegantly as it ruffled the mighty bird's feathers. The bird never seemed to land, but it would disappear for hours at a time, presumably to feed or rest within the far away tree's.

The Phoenix was by far Abby's favorite, as it never failed to bring a smile upon her pale face, her violet eyes sparkling mischievously as she watched it.

She had not had the chance to observe many of either the Electric Slug, or the Phoenix's abilities, but she didn't mind, so long as she had something or somewhere new to explore.

* * *

There was a knock on the door to Caine's office, "Come in."

Ari pushed the door open and stepped in, her hair draped over her left eye to cover the roughly stitched gash.

"A-Arianna," Caine gasped, caught off guard. He quickly cleared his throat and regained his composure, "what are you doing here?" He asked in a slightly intimidating tone, although secretly he was glad to see her.

"I was just wondering where Krista is, and I thought that since I couldn't find Sam I'd ask you," She stated flatly.

"Oh," He forced through gritted teeth. Of course she'd tried to find Sam first. He rolled his eyes to that, earning a confused look from Ari, "Well, I've got her and a couple dozen other kids searching houses right now, and, since you don't seem too busy, I'd like to ask you to join one of the groups."

"Uh, how about no?" Arianna said as she laughed.

"Let me rephrase that, Arianna," He growled, "You will go out and help search the houses with search team 4."

"Sorry to burst your all mighty little bubble Caine, but I'm not going to do that," She snapped.

Just as Ari turned on her heels Caine used his abilities to spin her towards him, and that's when he saw it.

As Ari's body spun forcefully to face him her hair flew out of her face and behind her shoulders, revealing the stitching from above her left eye, to where the long slice stopped on her cheek.

"What happened?" Caine demanded, clenching his hands into fists.

"Caine," Arianna gasped, his invisible grasp on her tightening to the point where she couldn't even compose her thoughts enough to inflict pain on him.

Opening his stiff hands again he mumbled reluctantly, "Sorry, now what happened?"

"Dunno," Ari mumbled, concentrating her thoughts on inflicting pain on him, but unlike the previous time she had tried, she made it less obvious. This time she focused only on his hands, and she didn't glare. Only thought.

Caine cursed loudly and pulled his hands close to his chest as if it would help ease the pain. He growled, trying to put up a barrier between Arianna and himself, but it was useless. His hands felt as if they'd been crushed, and he couldn't will himself to even bother trying to move them.

After Caine had released her Arianna let the pain she had been causing him fade away, smirking at him, "I've been practicing, Caine."

"Evidently," He replied dryly, having let the topic of Arianna's wound drop. He still wanted to know what had happened, but this time he would take a less aggressive approach on finding out, "So, what exactly _do _you know about the wound on your left cheek?"

"Was on the beach one minute, the next, this," She said, gesturing to her left cheek, "Everything went black, and I woke up in Dahra's care."

"Ah," Was all Caine said in response, in his mind he was already sure of who did it. Orc. He _would_ be punished. Severely.

"So..." Arianna trailed off, not having anything to say, but having no one else to talk to either.

Caine snapped out of his his thoughts, his cruel intentions towards Orc could wait, "Right, I was just about to tell you where you can find search team 4." This earned a sigh from Arianna, but no pain, so he continued, "They're searching the houses on Fourth Avenue, they shouldn't be hard to find."

Arianna rolled her eyes, "Fine, I'll help them search the stupid houses, but you owe me one," She grumbled as she turned on her heel and walked out the door.

Drake – who happened to be going to see Caine – was about to pull open the door to his office when it flew open, and a rushed Arianna ran right into him.

"Ah, Drake!" She exclaimed, scrambling backwards with her eyes wide.

He chuckled, "Hey there Ari," He winked.

"Uhg! You're so gross!" She yelled and stormed past him, yelling over her shoulder, "and _you_ of all people have no right to call me Ari, It's Arianna!" She said, emphasizing her full name

"Whatever sweetheart," He said through a smirk, he could only imagine the look on her beautiful – and angry – little face right now.

"Uh, earth to Drake?" It was Caine, "are you going to come in and talk, or stand there like a love struck fool?"

"Shut up Caine," He grumbled, "I can't even remember what I needed to talk to you about anyways..." He trailed off, slamming the door as Caine smirked at him. "Bastard," He grumbled and walked off.

* * *

Astrid had come up with many theories since her first one, each leading to more questions. Each time she found a possible answer to one of the questions three or four more would spring up. It was an endless cycle.

She had been very successful in distracting herself from everything, but now she was just stressing herself out. She had been locked up in the house, lost in her calculations for days now. She only stopped to care for Pete, or herself. Knowing her luck there were already dozens of rumors about her going around town.

"Whatever," She mumbled to herself, "who cares what people think or say anyways?"

She punched a few numbers into her calculator, multiplied it, and wrote her answer down on the piece of paper, "Well that's no good... Another dead end," She grumbled.

These calculations were starting to get on her nerves. By the looks of it they'd run out of food sometime after Thanksgiving, and if the power went out it wouldn't be good either. Although she still had a list of calculations she needed to do, along with theories she needed to test, and so she put her pencil to the paper, and lost herself in it all again.

* * *

"Did you know that an ostriches eye is bigger than it's brain?" The boy exclaimed excitedly.

"Mm," Was Ari's reply, hoping the boy would take the hint and shut up already. He had been spitting out random facts for the last hour and a half.

"A goldfish's memory span is only 3 seconds," He spat out as he grabbed a handful of cans from the pantry in the house they were raiding.

"Good for them," She grumbled, hauling a case of bottled water out to where they were piling the supplies.

The boy was hardly affected by her hostile tone, pushing his shaggy red hair out of his eyes as he spat out another random fact, "Did you know Abraham Lincoln's horse's name was Old Bob?"

The boy's name was Ryan, and he was 11 years old. He had shaggy red hair, dark green eyes with a hint of brown, and freckles. He had a British accent, and never seemed to shut up, not to mention he thought he was 'all that' with his stupid little facts.

"Whoop-de frickin do," She growled through gritted teeth, her patience was running dry, and she hated house work.

"A crocodile can't stick it's tongue out," This earned an eye roll from Ari, "and there's a flower with 80,000 volts of electricity running through it."

"Oh really?" Arianna said in a falsely intrigued tone, then muttered under her breath, "I'd love to zap your tongue with it so you'd shut the hell up."

"Yep!" Ryan exclaimed, happy that she seemed to have liked that fact and obviously not hearing her snappy remark, "A snail can sleep for three years, and pearls dissolve in vinegar."

By now the two of them stood out on the small front lawn of the house the rest of there team was clearing without them, Arianna glaring at him slightly, but holding back her ability to inflict pain.

"The shortest war lasted 38 seconds," Ryan was finally running out of the facts he used on a daily basis, looking deeper into his memory for another, "Napoleon was afraid of cats."

"That's wonderful," Arianna said, faking a smile, "did you know that if you don't shut the hell up you're going to be in a shit-load of pain?"

He blinked a couple times, gulped and turned back to get back to his work.

"Finally," Ari breathed out as she too went back into the house to clear out the kitchen.

* * *

After a long day of clearing houses, boys looking at her squeamishly, and being stared at strangely, Krista had helped drop off the supplies where Caine had asked them to and gone home.

"Hey boy," She said happily as she opened the shed door and saw Dusty looking at her. "You hungry?" She asked and held out an apple that she had taken from one of the houses.

Prancing over he bit the apple in half, chewing greedily as if he'd never had an apple before.

"You're so silly," Kris mused, rubbing his forehead as he ate the remaining piece of apple from her hand.

Luckily the shed had a small attic, so she could keep Dusty's food in there along with his tack.

She pulled on the string that would lower the ladder up into the attic and Dusty snorted behind her as she climbed up, "Yeah yeah, I know just be patient."

She had only fed him one flake of hay this morning and a single scoop of grain, and then she had been asked to help clear houses in town so she couldn't give him his lunch, so naturally he was hungry.

After throwing down two flakes of hay she climbed back down the ladder to get the bucket she had been using to put his grain in. It was a bit chewed on the edges, suggesting Dusty had gotten bored and tried to eat it. Dummy.

Climbing back up the ladder and putting two scoops of grain in the bucket she put it to the side and grabbed the light blue cooler blanket and slung it over her shoulder. It wasn't getting too cold at night, so there was no point in putting the heavier blanket on him, but she was getting tired of him rolling and making a mess of his light coat.

"What the heck are you doing down there?" She demanded as she heard a thud, then the clatter of hooves. She grabbed the grain and climbed down in a hurry, only to find the large horse cowering in the corner. "What's up with you?" She asked as she pushed the ladder up until it folded back up into the ceiling.

Dusty snorted, looking behind him fearfully towards Krista.

"It's alright," She murmured, approaching her horse slowly, rubbing his neck as she offered him the grain.

He put his nose in the bucket and started munching on the grain as if nothing had ever happened, swishing his tail happily.

"You're such a goof," Krista giggled as she tossed the cooler up onto his back, straightening it up before doing up the buckles on the chest flaps. Then she reached under his belly and did up the cross clasps, "Back to front, front to back," She mumbled to herself. It was something she had been told many times in the short time spent at the stables. "And always loop the back straps together," She continued, doing up the last two straps between Dusty's back legs.

Once the blanket was on she turned to see what could have scared Dusty earlier. After a minute of looking she decided that he must have seen something – or thought he had seen something – because there was nothing out of place.

Walking back over to Dusty she picked up the grain bucket, Dusty still eating from it contently as she sat down cross legged in the corner. She held the pail in her lap as she leaned her back on the wall, yawning softly as Dusty continued to eat. She'd had a busy couple days, and within minutes, she was asleep.

* * *

Sam was exhausted, it had been a long and stressful day. He couldn't get Krista out of his head, but he couldn't stop wondering about where Astrid had been the past couple days either.

Walking into his house and shutting the door behind him he stumbled tiredly over and flopped onto his back on the couch, staring up at the ceiling.

Thoughts of Astrid and Krista battled for attention in his mind, but in the end it was Krista who had won. He couldn't get how horrified she had been when they opened the door to that house and found the soother laying on the floor.

The smell coming from the house was horrid, and Quinn had jokingly said, "Woah, what died in there?" But the joke fell short when they busted the door open.

The smell hit them all like a sac of potatoes, and all eyes fell upon the soother laying in the doorway.

"I'm not going in there," The complaint came from one of the younger kids in the group.

When Sam had looked over at Krista there were tears in her eyes, "Just give me the garbage bag."

The memory haunted him.

Shaking his head he found himself wondering about how she was holding up. It hadn't been that long since both of her best friends had been admitted into Dahra's care. That had been yet another painful day for her, and Sam knew it.

He frowned, the past week – or however long it had been – had been tough on everyone, but Krista seemed to be getting the shitty end of everything.

Sitting up Sam debated whether or not he should go check up on her, but in the end he decided not to. If he was in her situation he would just want to be left alone. Besides, if she wanted to talk to him she was capable of coming to him herself, he needed to give her space.

He sighed, he was so confused. He was confident he was crushing on Astrid, but he simply couldn't pinpoint how he felt towards Krista.

"Guess I'll just have to wait and find out..." He trailed off, smiling thinking of all the possibilities.

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter! I just realized (with the help of a friend) while writing this chapter that I had been spelling Diana's name wrong! Oops. Also, hope this chapter connected some of the dots, so to speak, and like usual, if you've got questions or suggestions PM me, and please leave a review, they mean a lot to me. Love you all!**


	12. Chapter 11

**Hello again all, I feel like it's been forever since I updated! Sorry for that. Anyways, I know some of you really want to find out Kris's powers, since Diana did say she was a 3 bar, point is, somewhere hidden within this chapter is a hint... Enjoy!**

* * *

"Dahra?" Came Seth's tired voice from his room, "Dahra?" He repeated, and she rolled her eyes. He'd been calling her for the past hour now, but she had refused to acknowledge him. He was going through cravings, withdraws, and emotional fits. One minute he'd be screaming at her, the next he was bawling.

Finally, she gave in, "Yes, Seth?"

"Will you come in here?" Came a choked sob, "It's awful lonely in here."

She sighed, his mood swings were getting on her own nerves, but at least he wasn't screaming at her, "Fine." She set her book to the side and walked over to Seth's room.

She stood outside for a moment, listening. Upon hearing nothing but sniffles and quavery intakes of breath she placed her hand on the doorknob and pushed the door open. She had her hand raised to cover her face, as it wouldn't be the first time if Seth were to throw something at her as she came in. She was relieved to find Seth had not even moved from where he had himself crumpled in a ball in the corner of the room.

"Seth," She said, speaking in a soft, careful tone, "You know that you being locked up in here is for your own good, right?"

He looked up, eyes red from crying, "Y-yeah, I guess," He mumbled through a quavery breath.

Dahra sat down cross-legged in-front of him, "Anything you want to talk about?" She asked, feeling like more of a psychologist than a makeshift doctor.

He nodded, rubbing his tired and teary eyes, "I'm sorry."

"For what? Seth, you've done nothing wrong," She explained, placing a supportive hand on his shoulder.

He slapped her hand away, "Don't touch me!" He screamed, tears streaming down his face at the same time.

Dahra sighed and stood up, "Seth, I'm sorry but I think the best thing for you right now is to get some rest," she pulled open the door, "And you can't do that if I'm here."

"No, wait," The suddenly calm voice startled her. Seth was staring at her with a blank expression, the tears still glistening on his cheeks.

"Seth..?" She asked warily, pushing the door closed again.

"No," He said in a voice unlike his own, "Leave it open."

The immense difference in his tone sent chills down her spine. Just moments ago he'd been a bawling, hysterical mess, and now he sat there, staring calmly at her, speaking in a well controlled, monotone voice.

"You know I can't do that," She said, the lack of firmness in her tone left room for argument.

"You know you can," He countered in a calm, yet almost dark tone.

Dahra gulped slightly, then cleared her throat, willing herself to speak louder, "Seth, I won't let you out of this room."

"Are you sure?" He asked, standing up and smirking at her. It made her shiver, "I think it'd be a good idea to move to the side."

"N-no, Seth," She stated, leaning her back against the door.

So, the intimidation method hadn't worked, time for plan B. He'd been hoping he wouldn't have to use his powers on her, as it drained his energy to do so, but he didn't see another way out. He concentrated on sending her brain signals to become tired, to crave sleep.

Dahra stood there, frozen on spot, staring at him with wide eyes. Unlike her eyes, Seth's were calm, but something within them had changed, and she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. Then she realized, Seth's soft green eyes were glowing slightly, just a shade more vibrant. Something almost impossible to notice, yet something that you'd think would be impossible not to notice.

After a few short moments Seth knew that the signals were either not reaching her, or not working, so he tried something else. He tried to order her brain to trust him, to let him out, but this caused a completely different outcome.

Dahra felt her throat tighten and her eyes tearing up, yet when her mouth opened, it wasn't a sob that came out, but a laugh. Tears streamed down her face and she crumpled to the floor, all the while laughing like a maniac.

It wasn't what Seth had been trying to cause, and he still wasn't sure why exactly those were the emotions that Dahra had received from him – they were extremely close to his own feelings actually – but at least she was out of his way now.

"Sorry, Dahra," He said, bending down and scooping her up in his shaking arms and laying her down on the bed.

"S-se-seth," Dahra choked out between confused, angry sobs. She didn't know what he was doing to her, and she didn't understand why he was doing it.

"Don't worry, this shouldn't last long," He whispered in her ear, "And don't come looking for me," He added before turning and walking out of the room.

Once out of the room Seth's mind started throwing questions around. Why hadn't he been able to make Dahra sleepy? Why had she become an emotional mess? And why did her breakdown remind him so much of what he'd been going through over the past days?

'Oh well,' He thought to himself as he wandered down to the beach, sitting down on the warm sand. That's when it hit him; the reason he couldn't make Dahra feel sleepy, is because he was nowhere near tired himself. The reason Dahra had broke down like that is because that's how Seth had been – and still was – feeling.

"My God," He breathed, "It all makes sense now!"

His powers were influenced by his own feelings. He had to be tired to make others feel tired, or at least have himself convinced he was tired. He needed to trust the person before he could make them trust him. He had to be calm to make others calm, angry to make them angry, and _that_ is why Dahra broke down like that. He hadn't been sending her signals to trust him, but instead, he had been transferring his own emotions to her, and come to think of it, he didn't feel his emotions so strongly now.

Finally, it had all clicked. Seth's power was not the manipulation of others emotions, but instead, the ability to force his own emotions upon others, and although he didn't have much control over it yet, he was sure it would come in handy later. He just needed more practice.

* * *

Earlier that morning, Kris had decided that today she would take Dusty out for a ride. She had no clue how long it had been since he'd been ridden, but she knew he needed the exercise, and so, she had fed him his breakfast, brushed him down, saddled him up, and led him out of town; all before the sun was even up.

Now, she sat upon his sturdy back, her sneakers in the stirrups, her hands holding the reins gently, and a helmet atop her head.

Dusty nickered excitedly, prancing beneath her as both he and Kris looked at the open terrain in-front of them.

"You wanna run?" She asked him, knowing that was exactly what he wanted.

Taking his excited head bobbing as a yes she leaned low on his neck and gave his ribs a gentle nudge with her heels. That was all it took to send him forward at a gallop, the land blurring by them in the early morning light.

Kris grabbed a fistful of Dusty's thick mane to help steady her, clinging to him with her legs as the air bit at her face.

When Dusty's excited snorts and whinnies became tired huffs, and the enthusiastic drumming of his hooves on the ground turned soft and less rhythmic, she leaned back a little and asked him to walk. He gladly obliged, smoothly transitioning to an easy, soft walk.

"Good boy," She cooed, rubbing his sweaty neck.

After walking him around for a bit, and she was sure he was cooled out enough, she pulled back gently on the reins. He stopped, and she gave him a loose rein. He lowered his head, his eyes drooping lazily as Kris looked around.

They stood on the edge of a field. A cabbage field by the looks of it. Rows and rows of plants that were not yet ready lay ahead of them. The rich dirt almost seemed to be moving in certain spots, but that was impossible, wasn't it?

Dusty's ears swivelled nervously, his body tense, tail swatting irritably. It was when he started stomping his feet and biting defensively at the air that Kris looked down, and screamed.

"What are those things?" She yelled at no one in particular. There were worms, their mouths clamped onto her beloved horse's hooves. She could see their teeth, there had to be hundreds of tiny, razor like teeth in their mouths, and they were much larger than normal worms.

Dusty stomped his front left hoof, the worms retreating momentarily before attacking again.

"Lets get out of here boy," She exclaimed and gave him a panicky kick to the ribs. He shot forward beneath her, and she almost lost her balance. Only the fear of what would happen to her if she fell down to where the worms could reach her kept her legs wrapped around Dusty, and her hands glued to the reins.

Once out of the field the worms released dusty, wiggling their way back into the dirt, but neither Dusty or Kris wanted to stop.

Dusty ran tiredly, grunting every stride or two, and Kris kept looking over her shoulder – making sure the worms weren't following.

The two were more than half way back to Perdido Beach when a misplaced hoof sent dusty falling towards the ground, and Kris flying through the air.

Dusty's knee's and face collided with the hard ground as his back hooves dug into the dirt, desperate to balance himself again. He slid to a stop and scrambled to his feat, rearing with wide eyes.

Krista flew through the air for what seemed much longer than it was, then crashed down onto the cold earth. She felt a sharp pain in her chest as her upper body collided with a rock. She let out a yelp as she tumbled across the ground, finally coming to a stop on her back.

She lay there, staring up at the sky for a moment, waiting for the air to return to her lungs. She listened to Dusty's worried whinnies, and the sound of his hooves hitting the ground. She gathered her strength and sat up, sending waves of pain through her body, which were focused on her ribs.

"You okay?" She asked, more to make sure she could still talk than to actually ask her horse, as she could tell he was hurt – or at least scared.

Hearing her voice, Dusty calmed down, standing with his head low, looking at her with sad eyes.

"It's alright Dusty," She reassured him, getting to her feet and dusting herself off, "I'm alright."

With slow steps she walked up to him, stroking his neck affectionately before taking a step back to look him over.

There were cuts all over his face, and his soft muzzle was sticky with blood. A cut on his forehead caused blood to trickle slowly down over the brow-band of his bridle. The bit in his mouth was covered with bloody spit, and his neck looked stiff from the fall. His legs had scratches and cuts from the knee's down, but there was something even stranger about his hooves.

She ran her leg carefully down Dusty's leg, and he picked up his foot for her. She held it in her hands and looked at it, there were teeth marks. Tiny, tiny little teeth marks, and little round chunks of his hoof was missing. The worms.

The worms had bit savagely at his hard hooves, biting off pieces, chewing desperately, trying to get to the flesh of his legs.

A shiver shot down Kris's spine, she had been that close to losing him.

She put his foot down gently and stood up, hugging him around the neck, and dusty held her close to him with his head. It was amazing how much personality this horse had, he was more of a person than an animal in that sense, yet he was still skittish and fearful; as a horse should be.

* * *

Orc burst through the door, "Where are you, you little bitch?" He screamed, and there, in-front of him, stood a wide eyed Arianna.

"What the hell did you do that for?" She screamed right back at him as the door smashed into the wall, the knob breaking a hole in the drywall.

Orc stormed towards her, grabbing her by the throat with one hand and slamming her against the wall before she even had a chance to react, "Why don't you ask Caine?" He growled raising the bat he had in his other hand.

Arianna blinked, her eyes focusing on Orc's bruised and bloody face, "What happened?" She asked, placing her hands over Orc's hand and making a jolt of pain travel through it.

He howled out in pain and jumped back, dropping Arianna to the ground, "That's it, bitch, you're dead!"

Arianna doubted her power would help her much here. If anything, it would make him angrier, so instead she had to take the hits. She raised her hands to cover her head, the metal bat smashing down on her palms, sending jolts of pain through them – much like what Orc's hand must have felt.

Orc narrowed his eyes, raising the bad again and swung it sideways at her head. It hit her arm – which took a large amount of the blow – then connected with the side of her head. It would have smashed her skull in if it hadn't been for her arm, no doubt.

Arianna's vision blurred and the room spun wildly around her. Her stitches had come loose, and her gash was bleeding again. The last thing she heard before the darkness overtook her was, "Hah, blame me for something I never did? May as well have the glory of really doing it."

* * *

Kris had taken Dusty's saddle off and dropped it into the dirt, which was now getting hot under the California sun. Now, she slid off his saddle pad, exposing his wet back, dark with sweat.

"You're a good boy," She murmured as she started carefully undoing his bridle. The cuts and bruises on his tender face made it difficult to take it off without hurting him, but with careful fingers, Kris managed to undo the bridle, and slip it off his head. The reins – still around his neck – kept him from wandering off too far as she wiped off the blood and slobber covered bit.

"I'm so sorry for this boy," She sighed, looking at his bloody muzzle and lips.

He nickered and bobbed his head as if nothing had happened, this caused a small smile to tug at the corners of Kris's lips.

Sitting down on the rock she'd fallen onto earlier Kris wiped the sweat off her forehead. It was nothing like the desert heat, but it was still hot, and with no shade in sight, both her and Dusty were forced to stand out in the sun. She didn't know how she was going to wait until sundown to get dusty back to the shed, but she did know that she couldn't go back now. She didn't know the exact time, but she knew kids were bound to be up and about.

"Ugg, it's so hot," She complained, closing her eyes and groaning. Dusty snorted in agreement and Kris laughed.

She started to imagine herself at the academy, _yes, she was in the academy. Arianna and her were sitting on their beds waiting for the knock on the door that would surely be Seth. They were going to do their homework together, in the air conditioned dorm room she and Ari shared. They were going to sit on the floor, laughing, talking about things that would never happen, and copying each others answers. They were going to imitate their math teacher, and her funny accent, and they would sneak down and steal popsicles from the cafeteria, giggling as they ran outside to eat them in their secret hideout within the school hedges._

A cool gust of wind brought Kris back to reality, and there, standing in-front of her was not Dusty, but Sam.

"Sam!" She exclaimed, scrambling to her feet, cringing from the pain in her ribs at the movement.

Dusty, who had wandered over to a patch of grass – the reins still over his neck – threw his head up to check out what was happening, then lowered his head and continued to nibble on the patch of rich green grass.

Sam ignored her question, staring at her he asked, "What Happened?"

She was covered in dirt and grass stains from head to toe, and she had a big bruise on her cheek. Her shirt was almost ripped in multiple places, and the knee's of her pants were torn open. The helmet she still wore on her head was scratched and dirt covered, and Dusty was a whole other story.

"Uhh," Kris started, rubbing the back of her neck, "Dusty kinda tripped... And we both fell," She said, deciding it was best to leave out the huge flesh eating worms. Besides, Sam would probably just think she hit her head too hard if she told him.

Sam shook his head, "Kris, you're going to get yourself killed one of these days."

She sat back down, wishing that momentary breeze would return, "How did you find me anyways?"

"Dusty was gone when I showed up, so I figured you had to have taken him somewhere," He replied calmly.

"So, you were looking for me then," She stated, her eyebrow raised.

"Well, yeah," He admitted, "Was going to ask you something, but there's no point."

She watched as Sam hesitated briefly, then turned to start walking away, "So, you came _all_ this way, and you're just going to go back... Without even asking?"

Sam stopped. Why had he even come looking for her? He knew why, he just didn't want to admit it. School Bus Sam didn't know what to do, and he thought that maybe, Kris would. There was just something about Kris that made him feel that she was the one he needed to talk to, but he didn't know what it was that made him feel that way. He'd thought of talking to Astrid, but that wouldn't have gone over well. She would have just shot some theories at him, or refused to talk about it.

When Kris's small hand touched Sam's, shoulder he jumped., he hadn't heard her walk up behind him.

"Sam," She started in a soft voice, the voice she used to calm Dusty, "You remember when we found Seth on the floor in his room? And when Arianna was found, and they were both barely alive... And I was bawling?" She asked, she didn't wait for him to reply, "You were there for me, and I just want you to know, I'm here for you, Sam. You can tell me anything."

Sam gave in, spilling his thoughts, and his worries. How he worried about having messed things up with Astrid, kissing her by a grave and all. He left out the part where he thought he might be going after the wrong girl all together. He asked her what he should do about the kids still asking him for help, and him never having an answer. He told her about how Caine seemed a bit strange, and too controlling , and asked her what he should do about every little problem that came to mind. By the end of it, he felt like a blithering idiot.

"Well, a lot of those questions, I cannot give you an answer to, Sam, only you can," She explained. "I haven't really met Caine more than once, so, I can't give you an opinion on that, but, as for Astid; listen to your heart," She finished with a warm smile.

Sam let out a relieved smile. Somehow Kris always knew what to say, "Thanks, Kris," He said, not really knowing what else there was to say.

She shrugged, "No problem," She glanced over to dusty, who was still eating, "So, I've heard some rumours..."

"What kind of rumours, about what?" Sam inquired.

"Well, I've heard that there was a girl beat to death in town one afternoon for having powers... I've also heard that the Twins – Anna and Emma where they? – disappeared down by the beach. And there was even this crazy one about Astrid killing both herself, and her little brother."

Sam's eyes widened at the last one, "That's ridiculous!"

"So, it's obviously not true... Like I thought," She concluded, "What about the others?"

Sam sighed, refusing to look at her, "Bette was the girl's name, and yes. She did get beat to death..."

"Oh," Was all Kris said, as Sam continued.

"I was standing there when Anna and Emma disappeared... Emma, she went first, and Anna, Anna was so scared." He mumbled, remembering the absolutely horrified look in her eyes.

Kris reached over and took Sam's hand in hers, squeezing it reassuringly, "Sam, there was nothing you could have done, you did nothing wrong."

Sam's heart skipped a beat, "I guess you're right," He said, struggling to keep his voice steady.

Kris just smiled, let go of his hand, and walked over to dusty. He raised his head when she got there, and she held his head gently in her hands, kissing his nose.

Sam watched her with a warm smile spread across his lips. No matter what he did he couldn't stop smiling. The way she walked; so elegant and carefree. The way her hair fell over her shoulders, blowing softly in the soft breeze that had picked up for the first time since the FAYZ happened. The way she held Dusty's big head so gently in her hands, her thin lips touching his muzzle so softly. It all drove him crazy, yet he wasn't sure if he was in love with her, or could just see how amazing she was, and felt the need to become better friends with her. To get closer to her, learn more about her, who she really was, behind the innocent girl who cared so much about others. Was this who she really was, or was there more to her, than met the eye?

* * *

**Well, I hope you guys enjoyed that, because it's probably going to be the last chapter of the year. I feel it was a very sloppy chapter, but I just didn't have much time to put into it. I feel like here is where the story really starts to get OOC... Hope you all don't mind, and like always, if you have any questions, or suggestions, leave them in a review. Love you guys, and have a happy holidays. :)**


	13. Chapter 12

**Hope you guys all had a wonderful New Years! My gosh this chapter took forever to get up, but, had exams, then some technical problems with my keyboard. Well, here it is, the long awaited chapter 12! PS: I italicized the bit of Michael Grant's work I used, and am in no way taking credit for it. Just needed to use it to tie things together.**

* * *

With his head still in her small hands, Kris looked over her shoulder, "I'm going to take him down to the water to clean out his cuts."

Sam blinked, had he been staring the whole time? How embarrassing. "Don't you think that's going to hurt him?" He asked as he stood up, he'd had salt water poured onto a wound before, and you can bet it stung.

She nodded slowly, rubbing Dusty's forehead gently, "Yeah, it will, but I've gotta clean them or they'll get worse."

Sam nodded in thought, and Krista started walking towards the beach, Dusty tagging along behind her, surprisingly; not limping.

Sam too followed Kris to the beach, the soft sand beneath his sneakers reminding him of better times. Times where he and Quinn would run laughing into the water with their boards, paddle out, and wait for the right wave to carry them back.

Now, as Krista took of her shoes and socks, he wished for those times back. Perhaps it was a selfish wish, because if the FAYZ had never happened, he would never have met Krista, but right now, it's all he wanted. One more day on the beach, with his board, and his mother sitting on a blanket spread out on the beach.

The sound of Krista's feet plunging through the water pulled him out of his fantasy.

Krista took a few steps into the water, hoping Dusty would follow, and he did. He walked in with her, just a step behind. She was up to her knee's and Dusty was right there beside her, seemingly unfazed by the water lapping softly around his cut legs.

Taking his lack of reaction as a good thing, she bent down and cupped some water in her hands. The distinct aroma of salt and seaweed so strong it was as if she could feel it in her hands – on her skin.

Carefully smoothing her hands over his wounds, she waited tensely for him to jump back, stamp his foot, anything, but he did nothing but flinch. It was as if it didn't hurt, but instead, it was nothing more than a fly; something that could be shooed away with nothing but the slight movement of his muscles under annoyed and aggravated skin.

After a few minutes of agitated tail flicking and shaking his head, Kris had cleaned out all of his wounds, which now stood out like, well, raw wounds.

"You're one strange horse," She teased as he nudged her, almost knocking her into the water. He replied with a snort.

Sam, who was lost in his daydream again, was brought back by the warm sea water splashing across his face. He blinked, and saw Kris retreating down the beach, "I'm gonna get you!" He exclaimed and ran after her. She looked over her shoulder, and Sam could see the mischief sparkling in her blue eyes, which didn't look so icy and cold in the warm glow of the beach. He just grinned, he was gaining on her, and quickly. Until Dusty came running up from behind him and cut him off.

"Thanks Dusty," She beamed as she bent over to splash water at Sam. Some of the water hit Dusty's legs before it had the chance to drench Sam, but the rest hit the target, more or less.

"Hey, no fair!" He exclaimed and ducked around in-front of Dusty, splashing water back at her. This made Dusty shake his head in disinterest and trot a few feet away.

"Now look who's not being fair!" She countered and splashed at him again.

He was just about to splash her back when Dusty nudged him in the back, much harder than needed to just throw him off balance. He stumbled forward and fell, knocking Kris over before she had the chance to move.

Dusty seemed to be laughing at them as they fell.

Sam instinctively wrapped his arms around Krista and did his best to take the fall, but they both landed on their sides in the water.

"Ahh! I'm so sorry," He blurted out and shot to his feet, pulling Kris to her feet as well.

"It's fine," She replied through her laughter.

Sam just shook his head and chuckled, he couldn't think of a single thing he or anyone had done so far, that managed to make her angry, or even the slightest bit upset.

"Well, now that we're both soaked, maybe we should head back," Kris giggled as she dragged her feet out of the water and put her socks and shoes back on.

Sam nodded in agreement, "Yeah, we probably should."

* * *

"Kris, Ari, I'm back!" Seth exclaimed, glad to finally be out of the makeshift hospital, even more ecstatic to have figured out more about his powers. When he got no reply, he called out again, "Kris..? Ari..? Anyone?" And then he saw it.

Arianna was crumpled on the floor against the far wall, her long dark hair draped over her face.

A wave of panic rushed through him as he saw the small pool of blood on the floor.

"Arianna!" He shouted her whole name in complete panic as he rushed to her side. She let out a muffled groan as he shook her gently, "Ari, get up."

She groaned again and swatted at him, "Just five more minutes..."

"No, Ari, get up. Now!" Seth exclaimed frantically as he pulled Ari to her feet.

Arianna's eyes suddenly snapped open, and she started screaming words which Seth couldn't understand. He wasn't even sure they were English.

"Ari, Ari! Calm down!" He screamed back, far too worried to even try using his abilities on her.

Without warning, Arianna went completely silent and turned her head ever so slowly to look at Seth. With her eyes locked in an almost painful stare, they flashed bright, toxic green for a brief moment before returning to the normal grey, and then spoke, "S-seth?"

Seth blinked a couple times, questioning his own sanity as he grabbed Ari's wrist and started pulling her out the door, "We're going to see Dahra." Seth had expected Ari to tug back, or at least grumble in protest, but all she did was follow him. Something was clearly wrong; Arianna was totally out of it.

* * *

"So, I was thinking that maybe a group of kids should go out and see if there's a hole in the barrier wall somewhere, and if not, how far it goes," Sam said after a few minutes of silence.

He and Kris walked side-by-side with dusty tagging along behind them as they made their way back to town.

"Well, if there was a hole in the barrier, don't you think the adults would have come for us by now?" Kris asked him, turning her head to look at him.

"Well, yeah but... Don't you want to know just how far the barrier goes?" He countered somewhat defensively.

Kris held her hands up in an over exaggerated gesture, "Hey, wasn't saying it was a bad idea. I was just sayin'."

Sam just laughed, shook his head, and changed the subject, "Hey, Kris, how do you plan on sneaking dusty back into the shed?"

She shrugged in reply, "Should be easy as long as your girlfriend's still in hiding."

Sam's cheeks colored lightly at her remark, "She's not officially my girlfriend, you know."

"Oh, so smooching in-front of a grave isn't enough to make an official relationship?"

Sam opened his mouth to say something, but stopped before he say something that was surely going to upset her - more than his silence would.

The two walked the rest of the way in a tense silence. The tension between the two even had dusty walking a safe distance behind them. They were both avoiding each others gaze, and were a good arms length apart when they got back to the edge of town.

"Well, I'm going to see my 'girlfriend'." Sam put emphasis on the girlfriend part as his eyes locked onto Kris's.

"See ya," Kris replied in a falsely enthusiastic tone as she walked off. Dusty stopped just long enough to snort in Sam's face and flick his tail before trotting off after Kris.

"Good job, Sam," He muttered to himself as he walked in the direction of Astrid's house, only glancing over his shoulder once.

* * *

Seth hesitated for a moment before pushing the door open to the makeshift hospital and dragging Arianna in, "Dahra?"

"Well, look who it is," She replied as she looked up from her book and narrowed her eyes slightly at him.

"Look, I'm sorry about earlier," He started, suddenly lacking words for what he felt, so instead, he concentrated on transferring how he felt to Dahra.

With a much deeper understanding of what he really felt than any words could have described, her lips curved into a forgiving smile, "It's alright, Seth, but what brought you back?"

Seth gestured to Arianna, who stood quietly beside him, and he could see Dahra's eyes locking on her open gash immediately.

"What happened?" She demanded gently as she grabbed Ari's wrist and dragged her into a back room, Seth tagging along behind.

"I'm not sure, I just got home and found her laying on the floor, then she-" He stopped himself. What had she done? Had a fit? He wasn't sure, but the toxic green eyes had been weird, or had he imagined that? "I just found her."

Dahra gave a skeptical look as she fetched a sewing needle and thread, "I'm going to have to sew it up again, Arianna, and this is all we have..."

"Whoop-de fucking do," Arianna snarled suddenly through gritted teeth.

"This is bound to be fun," Dahra muttered under her breath as she threaded the needle, "Seth, if you've got a weak stomach, you might want to leave while you can."

Without another word Seth stood up and left the room, heading back to clean up the blood that was bound to be seeping into the hardwood floor with every passing minute.

"Arianna, I know this is going to hurt, but the only sedative I've got is in a needle, so I doubt you want that, right?"

Ari's eyes widened slightly for a moment before returning to their hateful glare as she stared at Dahra, forcing a smile onto her lips as she muttered in a tone much too happy to sound even the slightest bit normal, "It's alright, I'll just make sure you hurt more than I do. That's enough for me."

Dahra took a deep breath to ready herself for the inevitable pain she was about to experience, then, as gently as she could, she slid the needle through the flesh of Arianna's cheek and pulled. Gritting her teeth against the pain, Dahra continued, wondering if Arianna was amplifying the pain on her, or if this is really how she felt. Either way, it was all she could do to drive the needle through, and pull the thread tight each time.

The thread, which had started out white, was now dyed a rich red as Dahra tied it off, and dabbed some disinfectant over the now closed, but very tender wound. Her own cheek still stung, though Arianna's forceful pain had subsided, the thought of it was enough to make her cheek ache, and her hands shake as she washed the blood from them.

When Dahra turned around, Ari had her hand on her cheek, just below her gash as she glared at her, "Thank you, Dahra. I won't forget this," She finished with an almost cruel smirk as she got up, spun on her heel and walked out of the room.

A chill shot down Dahra's spine as Ari left the room, and suddenly even the slow drip... drip... drip... of the old sink wanted to make her scream. "You're imagining things, Dahra, get over it." She ordered herself, yet somehow, she couldn't calm down, not even the slightest bit.

* * *

Sam had caught Astrid just as she and little Pete were on their way to the grocery store, which was guarded strictly by one of Caine's thugs at all times.

Although he was glad to see that Astrid was finally up and about again – not locked in her house caring for Pete and doing pointless calculations – he was still unable to take his mind off of his earlier argument with Kris. Sure, she probably hadn't been trying to offend him with the whole grave smooching comment thing, but it really had bothered him. He was still confused on the whole Astrid and him thing anyways, but that comment just rubbed him the wrong way.

Then again, his reaction probably wasn't the best. He didn't need to snap like he had, and he could have at least apologized, yet instead, he just took her remark and threw it back in her face. That moment was playing over and over in his head, which obviously meant that he'd been a jerk about it, but what did she expect? Him to laugh and shrug it off? Probably.

He let out a frustrated sight and shook his head, he loved Astrid, or at least he thought he did. He'd had strong feelings for her for a while now, so why was he even worrying about Krista?

"Um, earth to Sammy?" Howard taunted, waving the list Astrid had handed him for inspection in-front of his face.

"What?" He snapped, snatching the list back and handing it to Astrid.

"Oh good, you **are** awake. Just making sure. The whole, 'I'm thinking' look doesn't look all that great on you, Sammy boy." He laughed and patted Sam on the shoulder, "Go on in."

Sam gritted his teeth as he, Astid and little Pete walked into the grocery store

_The store was a mess. Before Caine had posted a guard, it had been looted of almost all snack foods. And the kids who had looted had not been neat or careful. There were broken jars of mayonnaise, displays turned over, shattered glass from smashed freezer doors._

_ There were flies everywhere. The place had begun to smell like garbage. Some of the overhead lights had burned out, leaving pockets of gloom. Brightly colored posters still hung over their heads touting specials and price reductions._

_ Sam grabbed a cart and Astrid lifted little Pete into the seat._

_ The flowers in the little florist's corner were all looking tired. A dozen Mylar balloons with "Happy Birthday" or Thanksgiving messages on them still floated but were losing altitude. _

_"Maybe I should look for a turnkey," Astrid said, looking at the display of Thanksgiving-related food: pumpkin pie mix, mincemeat, cranberry sauce, turkey basters, stuffing._

_ "You know how to cook a turkey?"_

_ "I can find instructions online." She sighed. "Or, not. Maybe they have a __cookbook around."_

_ "I guess no cranberry sauce."_

_ "Nothing canned."_

_ Sam walked ahead into the produce section, then stopped, realizing Astrid was still staring at the seasonal display. She was crying._

_ "Hey, what's the matter?"_

_ Astrid brushed at her tears, but more came. "Grocery shopping was always something the three of us did, my mom and Petey and me. It was a time every week when we could talk. You know, we'd shop kind of slowly and discuss what to eat and talk about other stuff, too. Just casually. I've never been in here without my mom before."_

_ "Me neither."_

_ "It feels weird. It looks the same, but it's not."_

_ "Nothing's the same anymore," Sam said. "But people still need to eat."_

_ That earned a reluctant smile from Astrid. "Okay. Let's shop."_

_ They picked up lettuce and carrots and potatoes. Sam went behind the counter to lift a pair of steaks and wrap them up in paper. Flies were thick on some cuts of meat that had been left out from when the butchers disappeared. But the meat from inside the case seemed untouched. _

_ "Anything else, ma'am?" he asked._

_ "Well, since no one else is taking them, I might as well take that roast."_

_ Sam leaned down to look in the display. "Okay, I give up. Which one is the roast?"_

_ "The big thing there." She tapped the glass. "I can put it in the freezer."_

_ "Of course. The roast." Sam lifted it out and slapped it down on a sheet of waxed butchers paper. "You realize it's, like, twelve dollars a pound or whatever?"_

_ "Put it on my tab."_

_ They moved on to the dairy case. And there was Panda, standing nervously and holding his bat at the ready._

_ "You again?" Sam snapped._

_ Panda didn't answer._

_ Astrid screamed._

_ Sam turned, saw just a flash of Drake Merwin before something hit the side of his head. He staggered into a shelf of Parmesan cheese, knocking the green bottles everywhere._

_ He saw a bat swinging, tried to block it, bit his head was swimming and his eyes would not focus. _

_His knee's collapsed and he hit the floor._

_As if from far off he saw kids moving quickly, four or five, maybe. Two grabbed Astrid and held her hands behind her. _

_ There was a girl's voice, one Sam didn't recognize until he heard Panda say, "Diana."_

_ "Bag his hands," Diana said._

_ Sam resisted but he didn't have control of his muscles. Something went over his left hand, then his right. Strong fingers held him securely._

_ When he could focus at least he stared stupidly at what had been done. His wrists were lashed together with a plastic tie. And around each hand was a deflated Mylar balloon, duct-taped in place._

_ Diana Landris knelt down, bringing her face to his level. "It's Mylar. It's a reflective surface. So I wouldn't try to turn on your mojo, Sam: you'd fry your own hands."_

_ "What are you doing?" Sam slurred._

_ "Your brother wants to have a nice conversation with you."_

_ That made no sense and Sam wasn't sure he'd heard right. The only person he'd ever called "brother" was Quinn. "Let Astrid go," Sam said._

_ Drake moved past Diana and kicked Sam onto his back, legs twisted beneath him. Drake stood over him and pushed the end of his bat down against Sam's Adam's apple. "If you're a good little boy, we'll be nice to your girlfriend and her retarded brother. If you cause trouble, I'll mess her up."_

_ Little Pete had begun his windup to a full howl._

_ "Shut that kid up or I'll shut him up for you," Drake snapped at Astrid. Then, to Howard, Panda, and the others, he said, "Grab the big hero here and throw him in a grocery cart._

It seemed to have taken forever for Caine's thugs to push him in the grocery cart to the school gym. Within minutes of arriving he'd been dumped from the cart, kicked in the ribs, and delivered to where Caine had been waiting.

Orc shoved him down and straddled his back, holding him to the ground as Howard ripped off the tape that had been put over his eyes.

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the light. He looked up, only to see Caine standing with his arms crossed, and a smug grin on his lips.

Orc let Sam up – making sure to dig his knee into Sam's back while doing so.

Sam stood and dusted himself off before meeting Caine's cold gaze.

"Hey, Sam."

He looked around him, five of his thugs were armed with baseball bats, and Quinn was trying not to be seen, "You've got a lot of guys, Caine, I must be dangerous."

Caine nodded slowly, "Yeah, but then again, I have your girlfriend, Sam. I wouldn't try anything if I were you."

Sam didn't like the grin on his face, so he glanced at Quinn, who quickly looked away from Sam with a guilty look on his own face.

The few minutes of seemingly pointless chatter passed quickly, and before he knew it Caine raised a hand, and an invisible fist punched him in the face. He staggered back, almost falling over as his hand went up to wipe the blood that was now running from his nose. Not two seconds later Caine lifted his other hand as well, and Sam was levitated about three feet off the gym floor. Then, as Caine interlocked his fingers, he fell hard onto his stomach. He groaned as he took a couple desperate gulps of air to regain his breath as he pushed himself slowly to his feet, and dusted himself off. He stood shakily, shifting his weight off of his ankle, which felt sprained.

Caine started talking again – explaining the bar system – but Sam wasn't interested in that, so he gave Caine another smart-alic remark; Caine didn't react well to that.

Without warning Sam was thrown through the air. He smashed into the basketball hoop, his head hitting – and breaking – the glass. There was just enough time for him to groan in pain before he fell to the hard gym floor, and was dragged over to Caine's feet by overly powerful, invisible hands.

Sam slowly got to his feet, blood trickling from his forehead as well as his nose now.

A minute or so of Caine's over confident explanation of the Coats kids working with each other – encouraging each other – to improve their abilities later, Diana came in, a disinterested look on her face as she rolled her eyes, "Sam, he's baiting you."

"He's trying to prove he's tough," Caine practically snarled.

"And he's proved it. Move on."

Although her comment angered him, Caine wouldn't take it out on her, that's what Sam was here for.

The two – Caine and Diana – proceeded to threaten to let Drake have go at Astrid, and do 'whatever his sick mind pleased' until Sam agree'd to cooperate, and answer Caine's questions.

"Tell me about your father, Sam."

Sam gulped, and told him everything he knew, which wasn't much.

Caine seemed to enjoy the powerless look on his face as Sam looked down at his now probably very numb hands as he tried to pull the information from Sam, which he clearly didn't have. Of course, Caine already knew a great deal about Sam's dad, as well as his own parents. The simple fact is that Sam was clueless, and he was losing his patience in trying to get him to connect the dots. He was sick of Sam's smart-ass remarks, and him pretending not to care, "You bug out in five days, Sam. Care about that?"

"Let Astrid go." Sam said as strongly as he could manage.

"I for one am very interested in what happens when you hit the big one-five. You know why, Sammy? Because I don't want to die. I don't want to blink and find myself back in the real world – on the outside – etiher."

"You really think that's what happens?" He couldn't help but ask, earning an annoyed glare from Caine.

"I'm asking the questions," He snapped before composing himself again, "The point is, you and I have something in common, Sam. We were born just three minutes apart."

A chill shot up Sam's spine, and his arms prickled up with goosebumps.

"Three minutes, Sam," He said again, moving closer to him, trying – and perhaps even succeeding – to look intimidating, "You go first. Then me."

Sam shook his head in denial, "No, that can't be."

"It's true... Brother," he hissed, but before he could taunt Sam any more Drake burst through the doors.

"Is she here?" He demanded, yet somehow he didn't seem as worried as even Caine looked.

"You let her go?" Caine screeched angrily, his eyes narrowing in fury.

"I didn't LET her go. She was pissing me off so I slapped the bitch across the face, next thing I know both she and her retarded brother are gone, and I'm standing alone in the room."

"Astrid doesn't turn fifteen for months, and Petard is only four," Diana mumbled, more to herself than anyone else, although everyone heard her.

"And you don't seem worried about this why, Drake?" Caine demanded. If they had nothing to threaten Sam with, he was bound to put up more of a fight.

"Cuz I've got someone else that I don't think Sammy would want to see hurt," He replied with a smirk. Caine just raised an eyebrow at him.

Drake turned and left the room for no more than a minute, and Sam's face went pale as he shoved Krista through the door.

Her hands were tied behind her in a way very similar to Sams, and her eyes were pleading as she look at everyone. She was shaking as she struggled weakly against Drake's firm grip on her arm. Her face was bruised already, and there was dried blood on her cheek from where she'd obviously been punched or kicked in the face, causing her nose to bleed. Her pleading, tired, yet scared eyes locked on Caine's as he smirked, and she seemed to shrink down in fear.

"Oh, how perfect," Caine grimaced, "Bring her over," He enthused through his own cruel smirk, then looked to Sam and laughed, "Don't think no one has noticed how much you hang out with her. And the way you look at her, oh, that's adorable, too."

Drake shoved her forward, then stuck his foot out and snagged her ankle as she stumbled forward and crashed face first into the ground. He yanked her up again, and she yelped at his firm, purposely painful grip.

Caine raised his palm and dragged her over forcefully, using his ability to hold her beside him as he turned to look at the ever so pale Sam. "Is something wrong, Sammy? Don't want little Krista here to get hurt?

Sam just grit his teeth and gulped down his anger, forcing a somewhat calm tone as he spoke, "Let Kris go. I'll do whatever it is you want me to do, just let her go." Sam knew, even before he'd stared speaking, that his voice would betray him. It cracked on Kris's name, and wavered the whole time, making him sound weak and hopeless.

Krista was struggling to shake her head from within Caine's mental grip, and her weak, hoarse voice was like a guilty punch in the gut to Sam, "Don't do it, Sam..."

* * *

**Once again, the italicized writing is ****Michael Grant's work, and ****all credit goes to Michael Grant**** on that. There were some sentences of Michael Grant's that weren't italicized in this chapter, but most are clearly marked as his. No copyright intended ****. Just needed to use it to tie everything together in this chapter.**

**Anyways, with that out of the way, I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and once again, I'm sorry it took so long to get up. I'm not sure exactly how you guys interpret this story so far, but I hope it makes sense, and the unanswered questions should be answering themselves soon, so, like always, if you've got questions or anything of the sort, you can leave them in the reviews :) Reviews are appreciated, but not necessary. **


	14. Chapter 13

**Just a heads up to all of my readers; the order of events in Deadly Ties may vary from the book. This is simply because I believe it would flow better with the plot I have in mind. Also, I apologize for how long it's been taking me to update! School has been pretty busy, but as the school year nears an end, I should be able to write more :P Enjoy~**

* * *

Sam couldn't hold Krista's gaze, and so he looked over to Caine instead. The look on his face disgusted Sam. Caine was grinning, and Sam didn't even want to know what was going on inside his head.

"C'mon Sammy, make up your mind," Drake's voice cut across the room, and when Sam looked over, he had to clench his fists.

Drake was holding Krista tightly to his chest with one arm around her waist and the other around her neck. He had a sick, perverted smirk on his lips, which far were too close to Kris's ear as he tightened his grip on her neck.

All Sam could do was stare at Krista as she shook her head towards him, her eyes begging him not to give in to Caine, but he couldn't let this happen to Krista. Even if it hadn't been Krista – if it had been some random kid from off the street – he wouldn't have been able to live with himself if he let Drake have his way with someone who had done nothing wrong.

Krista's face was looking dangerously pale as Sam finally forced himself to speak, "Fine... Whatever you want, Caine, I'll do it. Just let Krista go, she's got nothing to do with this."

Caine's grin instantly widened as he waved his hand at Drake, "Don't choke her, we need her alive." Drake loosened his grip enough for the colour to return to Krista's face as Caine continued, "You know what, Sam? This place – the FAYZ – needs a leader. A strong leader. Someone with strong abilities, like, say; a four bar like one of us. Only problem is: there can only be _one_ leader, Sam, and that leader is _me_." Caine's smirk widened – as impossible as that seemed – as he looked from Sam to Krista, "And every leader must have his loyal followers."

"You're _sick_!" Sam spat, his eyes narrowing as he lunged at Caine. He had almost forgotten that his hands were tied and that he wouldn't be able to do anything anyways as Caine's thugs grabbed him. Panda had a hold of one arm, and Orc the other; gripping so hard that Sam could already feel the bruises.

An amused chuckle slipped past Caine's lips, "How brave, Sam. Too bad bravery will get you nowhere." Caine's gaze was cold as he studied Sam like a hungry coyote would his prey.

Sam struggled against the two thugs, kicking out and trying to twist from their grasp.

"Lets make a deal, Sam," Caine oozed, stepping towards him, "You struggle, and Krissy here gets your punishment. How does that sound?" He asked, seeming to tower over Sam.

"I like the sound of that," Drake chimed in, tightening his grip on Krista's waist, "Though, I'm not sure I'd treat you quite so... perversely, Sammy." Drake laughed at that, a sick, crazy laugh.

Sam's heart was in his throat as he, still struggling, muttered, "Oh, so the oaf has a larger vocabulary than you'd think."

"Ah ah ah, Sam," Caine scolded, grinning as he shook his index finger at him, "That'll cost you. Or should I say; that'll cost Krista."

Drake spun Krista around, earning a shriek from her as he placed his hand gently under Kris's chin.

Krista had her eyes shut tightly, trying to hide her fear as she felt Drake run tentative fingers down her neck and chest. She whimpered fearfully as Drake slipped his hand into her shirt and groped her breast. Tears filled her eyes now as Drake's previously gentle grip under her chin became more harsh.

"Open your eyes. Look at me!" He snapped, smirking cruelly at her whimpering.

Caine payed no attention to what was going on between his psychopathic thug and Krista. Instead, he smirked as he watched the expression on his brother's face change. The pain in his eyes was obvious, yet, Caine would bet money that he could not tear his eyes away from the scene in-front of him.

Krista shook her head weakly, clamping her eyes shut even tighter. She whimpered involuntarily, gasping as she felt the sharp pain of Drake's hand collide loudly with her tender cheek.

Sam lurched forward, howling out in rage. This took most everyone in the room by surprise, though it did not affect Drake in the slightest.

Krista's eyes were open now out of pure shock as she struggled to see Sam, his face red with anger. Drake was quick to jerk her head back towards him as he withdrew his hand from her shirt, chuckling.

"What perfect breasts she has, Sam," Drake taunted, unsure of whether the darkening red of Sam's face was due to embarrassment or anger. "Would you like to see, Sam?" He asked with a cocky yet sick grin, trailing both hands down Krista's sides to the hem of her shirt, "I bet she's even got a nice, girly bra on for you, Sammy."

"Get your hands off of her!" Sam shouted desperately, his voice almost catching in his throat as he saw the tears finally spill down Krista's cheeks.

"Oh Sammy, when will you learn? You're only making this worse for her. When you stand there quietly like a good little boy, Drake will stop," Caine taunted, circling Sam with slow strides, his arms crossed and a smirk upon his lips.

Reluctantly, Sam quit struggling, biting his tongue to keep quiet. Drake seemed disappointed by this, but took his hands off of Krista.

Sam tried to catch Krista's eyes, but her gaze was focused on the floor. Her cheeks glistened with tears, which had re-wet the dried blood on her face and turned into a sticky mess. Seeing her like this, it crushed Sam. He couldn't bear just standing there any longer, and so he asked in a cold tone, "What the hell do you want with me, Caine?"

"Simple, brother. I want you dead." His reply came just as coldly as Sam's had, but there was something different about it. Something Sam couldn't quite put is finger on.

"Although, I think I'll have a little fun, first," Caine added in after a moment of silence, the corners of his lips tugging up into a sick smirk. "Howard, bring the rope, Orc, Panda, you know what to do," He barked, striding over to Krista and grabbing her by the arm, yanking her forward.

Sam, still furious, tried once more to shake free from the grasp of Caine's thugs. He managed to elbow Panda in the ribs, although his hands being bound behind him made it difficult to put any strength into the hit.

Panda grabbed at Sam's shirt collar and pulled him down, bringing his knee up into contact with Sam's stomach. Sam's face paled slightly. Winded, he stopped struggling as Caine looked over from where he had been dragging Kris across the gym.

"What the hell, Panda?" He snapped, still jerking Kris roughly forward.

"He fucking attacked first. The little bastard deserved it!" Panda growled back.

Howard had thrown a coil of rope to Orc, who was now wrapping it tightly around Sam, binding his arms to his side.

Caine shook his head slowly, muttering as if disappointed, "I warned you Sam. You struggle, and Kris gets hurt." He had barely finished when Kris was yanked off the ground by an invisible hand which held her hair tightly. Caine crossed his arms in a bored manner as he watched Krista grab at the invisible hand desperately.

Within minutes, Sam was bound tightly – unable to move – and Krista was kneeling in-front of a medium sized rectangular plastic box. What the box was for neither Kris, nor Sam knew.

"Orc, go get the green eyed freak," Caine ordered, "Seth, was it? Oh, and Panda, go get the supplies."

"The supplies?" Sam questioned as Panda wandered off into the storage room.

"Doesn't concern you," Caine replied simply, "At least, not yet."

Sam narrowed his eyes towards his brother, holding back his comment for Krista's sake.

Minutes later Panda returned with a heavy-looking brown bag, and a bucket of water. Sam wasn't sure what to make of it at first, but as Panda staggered closer, he realized that the heavy bag was cement mix, "What the..?"

Caine appeared to be pretending that Sam was not there as he barked commands at Panda.

Panda ripped open the bag and scooped some of the cement mix into the plastic box in-front of Krista – as instructed – and Caine added in some water. The mixture was far too runny at first, but Panda was quick to toss some more of the mix in.

"Alright, hands in the bin," Caine ordered with a smirk. When Kris ignored him, he kicked her in the ribs. She yelped but remained still. Caine continued to kick her until she slumped forward, panting out in pain. Finally growing tired of this, Caine used his ability to yank her hands forward into the wet cement mixture.

Sam's eyes widened as he realized what they were doing, "W-What the hell?" He gasped as Panda tossed even more of the cement powder into the box which now imprisoned Kris's hands.

"She's a three bar, Sam. You passed kindergarten, didn't you? You know how close three is to four. _I_ am the leader of the FAYZ, Sam. No one can be anywhere near my power. No one!" Caine shouted, clearing his throat and resuming more calmly, "moofs powers seem to be controlled through their hands, so this is just an off switch, per say."

"You're sick..." Krista's weak voice surprised everyone. She hadn't spoken for quite a while now, so her rough, strained voice had not been expected, "When I get out of here, I promise you this: I will _never_, ever be on your side, Caine. You are a sick, power crazy bastard. You're nothing but an animal!" She spat, trying to clench her fists in the thick and hardening cement mixture.

"Do not talk to me like that!" Caine roared, grabbing her hair with one hand and yanking her head up as he drove his heel into her back. She yelped, then whimpered as he rotated his heel between her shoulder blades before releasing her.

Krista's ribs throbbed from the repeated kicking, her hands itched and stung with the sensation of the concrete hardening around them. Her head was tender from being yanked around by her hair. Her face felt stiff with dried blood and tears, and now her shoulders felt pinched as well.

Caine tapped his foot impatiently. "Orc should be back by now," He grumbled as he paced across the gym floor. "Well, I suppose now would be a decent time to call for the she-devil, as some call her," Caine mused with a smirk, "Drake, would you mind?"

Drake pushed off the wall on which he'd been leaning and gave a crooked smirk, "Of course, I wanted to see her again anyways. She has such a strong personality, Arianna does, especially when she's pissed off."

Caine just chuckled and shook his head as Drake walked off, leaving Sam standing on aching feet, unable to move or sit down, and Kris crumpled on the floor in pain, her hands encased in now almost completely dry cement. Orc was still gone, and Panda had gone back into the storage room. Quinn had left out of guilt a while ago, and so Howard was the only thug left still in the room.

"Hm, what do you think, Howard, should we let Sammy here in on our plan?" Caine asked with his signature smirk, "After all, he wont be alive long enough to stop us, anyways."

"He doesn't deserve to know either way. He's a weak, pathetic kid who thinks he's _so_ important," Howard hissed, narrowing his eyes, "We'll see how important he was – or wasn't – when he's dead and gone."

Caine raised an eyebrow towards Howard, "Feeling hostile today, are we? Regardless, I think that Sammy has the right to know what we plan on doing with his pathetic little followers."

"Why the hell did you ask my opinion, then?" Howard snapped? Storming off to the storage room to join Panda.

"Well, Sam, you want to hear?" Caine taunted. Sam went to reply, but Caine cut him off, "First of all, I plan on cementing all of the powerful moofs who aren't from Coats. I wont need them; they wouldn't be as loyal. Secondly, I plan to–"

Caine was cut off when the doors to the gym flew open, "We're back! Green eyed freak and I, that is," Orc exclaimed, laughing as he pressed the tip of the knife against Seth's back.

Seth had been walking up from the beach when Orc had come up behind him, holding a knife to his back. He had told him to walk to the school, otherwise he'd get stabbed. He didn't understand what was so important at the school, or why Orc would want Seth, but now he could see. He could see Krista kneeling on the floor, hunched over a plastic bin full of what looked to be concrete, her hands were encased within it.

"W-what?" Seth stuttered out. He had not yet gained much control over his power, since he was still iffy about his own emotions, and how to control them, so it would be of no help to anyone.

Caine turned to face them, "Oh, don't worry, Seth. Krissy wont be lonely for long. You're next."

Seth Gulped, looking around. He saw Sam looking towards him, and tilted his head as if to ask what had happened. Sam sighed and dropped his gaze to the floor in response. Seth sighed and dropped his gaze as well.

Orc folded the swiss army knife and put it back in his pocket as he shoved Seth forward towards where Krista was.

"Howard, Panda! Come out here and help!" Caine barked. Moments later Howard and Panda trudged from the storage room.

"Get the damn box off of her hands, the cement is dry enough."

Panda sighed as Howard rolled his eyes, the both of them going over to Krista. One of them grabbed Krista and the other grabbed the plastic bin and pulled.

It took five minutes of harsh tugging to get the bin free from the cement block around Krista's hands. The skin of her wrists had been rubbed raw in the process, and bled down onto the top of the block.

Seth couldn't stop staring at Kris, and how horribly pained she looked. He tried to smile at her when she finally looked up, but his lips wouldn't let him.

It wasn't long before Seth sat with his hands in wet cement as well.

Panda had learned from the first batch, that he had used much more cement mix than needed, causing the block to be much heavier than the one Seth would end up with. 'Oh well,' He thought, it would only be a difference of about 5lbs.

Caine was growing tired of waiting for Drake to arrive with Arianna. He paced the length of the gym repeatedly. Seth's cement was almost dry now, that's how long it had been. He couldn't wait any longer, he was itching with the urge to do something. Anything.

Krista still hadn't stood – or even looked – up, and Sam was starting to worry with her lack of movement when he heard her hoarse, strained voice.

"Caine, how the hell am I supposed to eat now? Drink? Do ANYTHING?" She asked, raising her voice as high as it would go, then coughing.

"We'll see about the eating and drinking, but you wont _need_ to do anything else. You're nothing now, understand? You're flesh and bones. A lot of it at that," Caine growled.

Kris had always been a little overweight, but she had never been obese. She may not be skinny, but neither was Seth. A lot of people were larger boned, like her, and Seth. Although, Kris had always wanted to be one of the pretty, skinny girls everyone seemed to love so much, so naturally the statement hurt her.

Seth remained quiet, staring down into the cement mixture which was dry around his hands now, and Sam shifted his weight around restlessly on his feet as Caine strode over to Kris.

"Stand up." Caine said.

"Why?" Krista asked, looking up at Caine.

"Because I said so. Up, now!" Caine snapped, losing his patience and lashing out to grab her hair, yanking her up.

Krista yelped and struggled to get to her feet. The heavy block of cement threw her off balance, and was unbearably heavy. Her joints already hurt. She didn't want to imagine the pain she would be experiencing an hour from now.

"Why are you picking on Krista?" Sam asked finally, after a long silence.

"Because, Krista is one of those people who see good in everyone, is she not?" He didn't wait for a reply, as he knew what Sam would say, "I want to show her how stupid and pathetic she is. I want her to know what happens to idiots who actually believe there is good in everyone, despite their past," Caine spat, enraged for some untold reason.

"I'm not an idiot for believing that," Krista said weakly, staring into Caine's cold eyes, her own ice blue eyes burning with rage as she spoke in a forcibly calm tone, "There_ is_ good in everyone. Everyone with a heart, and soul. _You_, have neither of those, so _you_ do not count!" She had started with a clam voice, but ended up screaming.

Caine was taken aback by her hostile tone, but his surprise lasted only seconds before Krista went flying across the gym, smashing into the wall with a sickening crack. "Do not speak to me like that, you little bitch! NO ONE, speaks like that! Not to me!" Caine screamed at the top of lungs. He was so enraged that he didn't even notice a wide eyed Arianna standing in the door of the gym. Everyone else did.

Sam had been the first to notice Arianna standing there, quickly followed by Seth, and Caine's thugs. Even Krista, who was crumpled against the wall, her right arm bent at an odd angle, white bone protruding her skin as her body shook in pain, had noticed Ari standing in the doorway.

"What. Have. You. DONE?" Ari shrieked, her eyes darkening from their normal light grey, to an almost black as she flung herself at Caine.

Caine had been surprised, not having heard Ari enter, but with the reflexes of a cat, used his ability to stop Ari in mid-lunge. She hovered flailing, screaming at the top of her lungs. Caine couldn't even tell if she was speaking English as Ari continued to scream. Her hair had all fallen in-front of her face by the time she calmed enough for Caine to let her down to her feet.

"Now, Ari, calm down," Cain said, smirking, but Ari didn't let him continue.

"HOW can I calm down, Caine? You just threw my best friend at the wall, and broke her arm! And WHY are her hands encased in cement? And what about Seth?" She screamed, her voice so high pitched with rage it made everyone in the room flinch, and a few cringe.

"Alright, I'll get straight to the point then," He said, grinning in amusement at how strong Arianna's powers truly were. For a three bar, her power was astounding. Even Caine – a four bar – was having difficulty keeping the wall of energy up between him and her to avoid her painful glare. "I'm sure you are aware of the offer I made you not too long ago?"

"How could I forget?" She replied coldly, her hair still hanging over her face, hiding her expression.

"Well, then I'm sure you also remember refusing me?" Arianna nodded through her veil of hair, and caine smirked, "Well, I have another proposal for you. You take me up on my previous offer, and you stupid little friends here don't get hurt anymore than they already have. Although, if you refuse, I will torture them."

Ari froze for a moment before speaking in a tone laced with defeat and anger, "Fine, I'll team with your sorry ass... But I promise you this, Caine," She started, pulling her hair from her face and pushing it behind her shoulders. Her eyes blazed a bright, toxic green, and her voice held a hair raising darkness to it, "If you _ever_ hurt them again... I will kill you. I will make you suffer, and wish you were dead long before you get the reward of death itself. I'll make you regret _ever_ even touching them."

* * *

**Cliffhanger! Haha, well, that was a bit shorter than I'd hoped it would be, but it's something to keep you guys occupied for a little bit :P I'll work on chapter 14 this weekend! Love you guys! Like always, reviews are appreciated, and feel free to ask me any questions! :D**


	15. Chapter 14

**Alrighty guys, this chapter is WAY overdue, but, I'm on summer vacation now, so I should have much more time to work on DT! Love you guys. Enjoy~**

* * *

In all the commotion, no one had noticed that Drake had not returned with Arianna. Instead, every set of eyes in the room was focused on Ari, her eyes still a blazing, toxic green.

Caine tried to chuckle, but the noise caught in his throat as he returned Ari's intense glare. He cleared his throat, and smirked, "Welcome aboard, then, Ari," He mused, sticking his hand out as he let the wall of energy fade, then vanish.

Ari growled and stormed up to him, gripping his hand like a vise-grip as she snarled, "I meant what I said. Every. Last. Word." With that, she released his hand with a look of disgust.

"Orc, Howard, you two stay and deal with little Sammy boy. Panda, get Seth up and come with us," Caine ordered, smirking at his success. He waved a carefree hand, which lifted Krista off the ground, bringing her to hover beside him.

The anti-gravity-like effect of Caine's telekinesis had caused Krista no pain, though as he lowered her to the ground, releasing her, she experienced the full force of gravity. The cement block was suddenly heavy on her hands, jerking her whole upper body downwards as she cried out in pain. Where her bone had previously protruded her skin, was now just a deep, bleeding hole, as the weight of the block had caused the bone to be pulled all the way back into her arm. The pain was excruciating, and Krista had to fight the urge to pass out. Her whole body ached, but her arm was on fire. Like a million red ants had crawled into her arm to bite her over and over; the pain lingered.

It wasn't long before the five of them – Arianna, Krista, Seth, Panda, and Caine – were making their way slowly down the highway, towards Coats.

Caine had decided that walking through town would be too risky, and since a car would attract attention, they would have to walk.

They had walked for hours at an extremely slow pace. The three whom had free hands would constantly have to stop and wait for Kris and Seth to catch up, dragging their feet and breathing heavily as the effort needed to keep walking increased as the cement blocks in which their hands were trapped seemed to get heavier. Everyone was thirsty, but no one dared to say so out loud. Caine was irritated with the slow progress as the sun peaked, then proceeded to get lower, and lower. A few times, they had to stop, for Kris nor Seth could walk no further in their current state of exhaustion.

Panda and Caine had made small talk, discussing future plans, trying to get a response from Ari, but Seth had remained silent, and the only noise coming from Krista was the occasional whimper of pain as the block pulled on her broken arm at a strange but painful angle, stretching her broken arm in ways she would not think were possible.

The pavement seemed to bubble with the heat beneath their feet as they dragged themselves along. Whatever it was that had them contained in Perdido beach seemed to act like a greenhouse – or was it always this hot?

Arianna eventually grew tired of trudging along in the heat. "Okay, I'm fucking done. Either we stop right the fuck here, or we fucking hijack a car and drive!" She snapped, planting her feet against the pavement and crossing her arms.

This took Caine by surprise, stopping him mid-stride. Krista and Seth also stopped, grateful for the break. Panda simply stood shifted his weight from foot to foot.

"Agitated, are we?" Caine taunted, flashing his signature smirk towards her without letting her reply, "Well, I like your idea, but there's one problem; none of us know how to hot-wire."

"Says who?" Arianna snapped, narrowing her eyes, "You never asked me, idiot."

Within the next few minutes, Arianna had stormed off, smashed in the window of a nearby jeep, and gotten to work hot-wiring it. Caine and Panda stood staring in a state of both shock and awe. Caine's lips had parted in a surprised little o-shape, but as he watched her work, he began smirking once more, wondering where exactly she had learned this skill of hers.

Suddenly, Caine wanted to know more about this mysterious, dark girl he had worked so hard to call a part of his crew.

Krista and Seth simply exchanged glances. Any other time they would have laughed, but the heat mixed with the weight of the concrete trapping their hands killed any and all potential laughter.

It had been a while since Ari had hot-wired a car, so it was taking her much longer than usual. She had learned her first few times round that the wrong wires could jolt her, or set the alarm off - neither of which she wanted to happen.

After the first five minutes waiting, Kris and Seth had sat down, collapsing in exhaustion in the shadow of the little red car closest to them. Caine and Panda had sat down as well, though they had chose to sit a little closer to the jeep.

It was another few minutes – though it seemed like mere seconds to Kris and Seth – before the engine of the jeep sparked and roared to life, a proud grin spreading across Arianna's lips.

"Come on, get up you freaks," Caine called as he strode towards the jeep, "We don't have all day. Move!"

Panda simply hopped in the passengers seat while Caine barked orders at the cemented moofs.

Caine went to the drivers seat, raising an eyebrow towards Ari when she didn't move.

Arianna burst out in laughter for a moment, then sobered instantly, "If you think you're driving, you've got another thing coming."

Caine rolled his eyes and turned to see the moofs looking at him with eyes full of hatred, "What do you want?"

"Like we can open the door..." Seth said coldly, rolling his eyes as he shifted his weight in an attempt to make the cement block easier to carry. Instead, he cringed and decided against doing that again.

Caine just chuckled and opened the back door to the jeep, mocking a bow as they climbed in. He then proceeded to slam the door violently behind them, and turn to Arianna again, "Well, get out so I can climb into the middle."

Ari glared for a moment before slipping out of the seat, her gaze locked on him like a hawk as she reminded him firmly, "I'm diving."

Caine grinned and climbed up into the drivers seat, hesitating briefly. He felt a sudden pain in his chest, like a burning acid dissolving his lungs. "Okay, okay," He wheezed, the pain so real that it had effected his breathing as he shoved his body into the middle seat, giving Ari room to climb up and swing the door closed.

With everyone squished into the jeep, Arianna grinned as she leaned forward and flipped the 4-wheel-drive switch on, "Hang on, it's gonna get bumpy."

* * *

Drake groaned, slowly lifting his head and looking around. Where was he? What had happened? He felt as if he had been thrown into a car compactor, and somehow survived.

He blinked a couple times to clear his vision, and realized that he was sitting in a ditch, crumpled at the bottom of an old, half rotten post. He tried to get up, but a sharp pain drew his attention to his hand. A dagger was driven right through his hand, and into the post he was crumpled against. There was blood down both his arm and the pole, and the dagger was clean through the center of his hand.

Suddenly, as if looking at the blade which pierced his hand had triggered it, the real pain finally kicked in. Drake gritted his teeth together and grabbed the dagger's smooth handle with his free hand, hesitating before yanking it out with a pained scream and throwing it to the ground. As the blood started to pour from the wound again, he growled and ripped off part of his sleeve, tying it tightly around his palm.

Drake couldn't help but chuckle at the memory of how this had happened. Perhaps he had been a bit too rough with Arianna as he escorted her towards the school. He had let one small fact slip; "We already have your freak friends," is what he'd said. It took a mere thirty seconds for Arianna to lose it from that point onward.

She had screamed and shoved him into the ditch with strength that surprised Drake, and then, with her hateful glare locked on him, she had used her power.

Drake had never experienced such pain in his life. He would imagine that being dipped in acid, then forcibly turned inside out would probably feel similar – maybe even more pleasurable than what Arianna had caused him to feel.

His body could not take the pain, and he had blacked out shortly after Arianna screeched and stabbed her dagger through his hand.

"A tough one," Drake mused to himself as a sick grin spread across his lips. Drake did not like girls – he hated them – but Arianna, she was special; he liked her.

Many thoughts passed through Drake's mind as he walked along the outskirts of town, all of which amused him greatly. Sick and perverted thoughts, as well as cruel and surely illegal, even in this new world – the FAYZ. All thoughts starring Arianna.

As soon as he reached the highway, he smashed in the window of the nicest car in sight, then, having found the keys still in the ignition, fired up the engine. With a determined expression, he set off towards Coats Academy.

* * *

Abby laughed as she felt the sand between her bare toes. Running along the beach, she could not help but feel free – alive. She had never felt this way outside of the FAYZ. She had always been the strange kid – the kid that 'sees things that aren't real'.

Even before the Fayz, there had been something about Abby – about the way she saw things. No one had known what it was at the time, and, even now they could not even begin to understand.

The beautiful creatures she now shared her life with – the phantom animals – they were the only ones to ever truly understand her.

Perhaps the phantom animals had always been there, Abby thought, though the FAYZ gave them a place where they belonged, and someone who understood them.

In the days since she discovered these shy creatures, she had bonded with some of them.

The aquaticat had taken the longest of them to trust her, being timid by nature, but still she had managed to gain it's trust. With candy and affection, she had won the heart of this majestic animal. She had discovered that this magnificent cat's favorite treat were gummy bears, as strange as it seemed.

As for the other two phantom animals she had befriended; they include the invisible cat, and the phoenix.

The cat would often follow her around, and rub up against her leg from time to time, though she had learned that the cat can touch you, but, you cannot touch the cat. It is not physically impossible to touch the cat – not at all – but she was a very independent cat, and did not enjoy the affection of anyone. Not even Abby.

The phoenix, however, was a gentle and loving creature. He adored Abby, and Abby loved him back. Often the two would engage in games of chase, the phoenix flying low enough for it to be fair.

Abby sighed contently as she let her thoughts drift away from the phantom animals. It had been a while since she had eaten anything, and though the aquaticat had offered her fish – which she had refused – she would much rather eat something like a granola bar, which was not raw.

With food on her mind, she made her way away from the beach.

As she walked down Ocean Boulevard, she let herself relax. She would not have anyone staring at her here, as they were all up at Town Plaza, as per usual.

Town Plaza had become like a support group for lonely and scared kids. Most kids came to hang out with others – to not feel so alone – and share positive thoughts. Others came to dump their younger siblings off for the day. Many just cried.

Abby would not be a part of that – nor was she allowed. The kids there had made her the outcast. They did not believe her when she told them about the phantom animals, because they couldn't see them like she could. They called her a freak, threw things at her, and denied her the right to feel the comfort of having friends any longer. The only person who had not abandoned her was her sister, though to spare her the bullying, Abby did not talk to her anymore.

Abby frowned at the thought, and shook herself from all thought. It was then she noticed something; a trail of blood droplets along the pavement beneath her feet.

A grin spread itself across her lips, "An adventure!" She exclaimed, crouching to examine the blood. She pressed her fingers to it, and pulled the, back to observe how it had dyed the tips of her small fingers red. "It's still fresh," She concluded, straightening as she looked for more.

It did not take Abby long to follow the trail of blood back to an old, half rotten post in the ditch near the marina.

"Woah," She breathed in awe, her eyes wide and filled with wonder at the scene in-front of her. Oh how exciting the battle must have been, she thought. There were blood splatters over the post, and a large gouge in the rotten and crumbling wood. A blood-stained dagger lay a few feet away, beside a set of heavy footprints.

Abby stepped forward and knelt down, picking up the dagger in her small hands.

The dagger had a shiny, thin blade, which was roughly seven inches long. The last inch of the blade – the tip – curled slightly upwards, giving it a much more intimidating look. Both the top and bottom of the blade was sharp enough that even running your finger gently along it had the potential to draw blood. The handle of the dagger was black, so dark it looked almost purple in the sunlight. It appeared to be smooth from repeated handling and use. There were faint engravings of intricate swirling and overlapping designs along it, which were also slightly worn.

Abby was grinning uncontrollably as she stood, fooling around with the dagger. She pretended to spar with pirates for a little while, then grinned, darting back towards her house, clutching the dagger in her hand. She was shocked when she just about ran into a soaking wet, beat-looking Sam.

"S-sam what happened?!" Abby demanded, tripping over her words in her excitement.

Sam jumped slightly, not having expected to run into anyone. He pulled his gaze from the ground to see a girl standing in-front of him. It took a moment for him to realize who it was, "Abby, what are you doing here, and why do you have a knife?"

Abby grinned, "I found it in the ditch. Can you believe someone threw this baby away?" She grinned, holding up the dagger to show it off.

Quinn had caught up to Sam now, and his stomach dropped when the kid Sam was talking to held up a knife. He allowed himself to breath again when she lowered it; she must have only been showing it to him.

"Anyways, Sam, you look like a drowned rat that the cat let get away... What happened to you?" Abby asked.

"Uhh... It's a long story I'd rather not explain, but I'm fine now, Abby. Don't worry," Sam said as he went to walk by. Abby stepped in-front of him, though.

"Woah woah WOAH! If someone tried to hurt ya, they'll be hearin' from my dagger!" She exclaimed, yanking it upwards in a threatening way. She saw Quinn drop his head from behind Sam and glared, "Was it YOU?"

Sam grabbed Abby as she lunged at Quinn, "Abby, stop! It's alright. He was confused. He didn't mean it!"

Abby growled but stopped, letting her arms drop, "You'll pay for that, Quinn. Karma will get you!"

"Abby, calm down, please," Sam said, letting go of her and taking a step back. With each minute they wasted, it would take longer to get to coats, where he would have a word with his brother. It would be an interesting situation, to say the least. He still wasn't sure what he was going to do. His brother already had control over his powers, Sam didn't, but he had to go – he had to make it up to Krista. It was his fault she was in the situation she was in, after all.

"C'mon, Quinn, we're losing daylight," Sam said, then started running. All they had to do was make it to the highway and find a car, and then the hard part would be over.

Sam could hear Quinn running along behind him, but a third set of feet quickly joined the sound of sneakers slapping pavement. Within seconds Abby was running along beside Sam.

"I want to come with you!" She exclaimed as they ran.

"Abby, it's best if you stay here," Both boys said at the same time.

"Why?" She screeched.

"Caine isn't who you think he is, Abby," Quinn said, hatred burning within him for what Caine had done to him, though perhaps Caine was not at fault here. Maybe it was Quinn. He shook his head and focused on putting one foot in-front of the other.

"He's a dangerous, dark person, Abby. You could get hurt," Sam added, pushing himself forward in an attempt to discourage the young girl from following any further. It didn't seem to work, as she easily stepped up her pace as well.

"I'm coming, Sam. It'll be a fun adventure!" She exclaimed, her tone borderline whiny.

Sam sighed deeply while the three of them ran, almost at the highway now. He had a bad feeling about this, but he simply did not have the energy to argue, "Fine, you can come, just stay out of the way."

* * *

Arianna grinned as she put the jeep in park and swung the door open but just leaned back against the seat.

"I think I'm going to be sick!" Panda exclaimed and threw his door open, stumbling out and retching.

Caine did not move. He blinked, his eyes still wide. Slowly, he released his grip on the seat. His fingers were sore from gripping the seat so hard for so long, and his heart was still racing as he slowly came to his senses. It wasn't long before he was the normal, cocky and controlling Caine again.

Arianna giggled to herself as she jumped from her seat and went to open the back door of the jeep and let her friends out. Her smile instantly vanished, replaced with a horrible feeling of guilt when she pulled the door open.

Krista was unconscious, her head resting against the seat, cement block pulling her arms towards the floor. Seth was pale, and sweating, but somehow managed a weak smile towards her.

"I-I'm going inside. I'll be in the girls dorms," She said, feeling rattled as she rushed towards the entrance to Coats Academy.

"Do you need me to show you around?" Caine asked, not acting quite as superior as usual.

"No. I already know my way around," Ari said, and just before she slammed the doors closed behind her she added, "Hurt them and you die."

Caine opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the slamming doors. "How does she know her way around already?" Caine asked himself under his breath. Come to think of it, Arianna did seem vaguely familiar, but he could not think of where he had met her before. He knew she didn't go to coats, but she didn't go to the public school, either.

He shook the thought from his head and, using his telekinesis, pulled Seth and Krista from the back seat.

There was something about Arianna that Caine liked. He was not sure if it was her power, or the way in which she talked, and acted, but either way he chose to respect her wishes. For now, at least.

With a motion of his hand, Seth and Kris were moved over to the school's old gazebo, and set down gently, "Panda, go get something to tie them up. I'll watch them until then."

Panda nodded slowly, and walked off into the school.

Seconds later, Caine heard the sound of an engine approaching. It must be Orc and Howard with a load of moofs, he thought, but was surprised when he turned to see Drake drive up, and slam into the back of the jeep before stopping.

Drake grinned and got out, "Oops? Nah, I totally meant to."

Caine rolled his eyes, "Impressive entrance..." A quick glance at the jeep proved that the back end had crumpled, because it was missing about a quarter of it's length.

"So, did the little witch agree to join us after all?" Drake asked.

Caine nodded, "She did, though, I was surprised when she showed up without you. What happened?

Drake smirked and held up his hand, the bandage soaked red with his own blood, "She's got one mighty fine temper, Caine. I'd watch my back if I where you."

Caine looked surprised for a moment, then brought his hand up to rub at his forehead with a sigh, "She's a fighter, that's for sure... I don't know how long the shock-like state she's in will last, but I have a feeling things are going to get ugly when she gets over it."

Drake just laughed, glancing over at the gazebo, "How long until Orc and Howard show up with the first load of moofs?"

"Soon," Caine said, though unsure himself. Seconds after the word left his lips, a minivan rolled up, Orc in the drivers seat.

"Well, lets get started, then," Drake said, a sick smirk on his lips.

* * *

The three of them – Sam, Quinn, and Abby – had made it to the highway quickly, and wasted no time in finding a car which still had the keys in the ignition. Luckily, there was still plenty of gas in the tank. They drove slowly, weaving in and out of the other vehicles littering the highway.

"So, here's the plan," Sam started after a long silence, "Caine will know I'm not dead, since Howard and Orc are probably already back to Coats, so he will be expecting me to show up. He'll have people watching the main road to coats, most likely, so we can't go that way."

"Oh man, that's true..." Quinn said, leaning back against the seat with a sigh.

"So I'm thinking that instead of coming the way they will be expecting, she should keep going down the highway until we get to that dirt road that cuts off the side – the road Krista said her father's car broke down on." Sam struggled with keeping his voice steady, he didn't want to feed anymore fear into Quinn.

"We'll drive up that way a bit. Hopefully we'll get up near the end of Bitterweed Valley just before nightfall. Then, using the darkness to our advantage, we'll sneak up and make our way through the back of Coats, near Trotters Ridge," Sam finished, finally out of the major mass of cars. He could speed up a bit now, and continue along the highway with a bit more room.

There was a long silence in the car before Abby spoke up, "I think that's a great plan, Sam! A battle strategy!"

Quinn rolled his eyes, holding back a groan, "It's going to be a long night, man. And what're we going to do when we get there, huh? How are we going to get them back with cement on their hands, Sam? Do you really think they won't be guarded by one of Caine's thugs?"

Sam stayed quiet, focused on the road ahead of him.

"And what is Caine going to do if he catches us, man?" Quinn exclaimed, bringing his hands up to rub his temples.

"You owe me, man," Sam said, his eyes still glued to the road.

Abby nodded silently in the back seat, admiring her dagger.

Quinn let out a long sigh, "Okay, fine... Then are we even?"

Sam, for the first time since they started driving, took his eyes off the road to look at Quinn, "I'll think about it."

* * *

Lana's breaths were heavy with exhaustion as she jogged across the hot desert floor. Patrick trotted along beside her, his tongue hanging from his mouth as he panted in the heat.

The soft yips of coyotes surrounded them both as they moved with the pack, stuck in the middle of them all. The yellow, mangy, dog-like animals did not seem to be tired at all. It was as if they could go on forever.

Whenever Lana slowed, pack leader would nip at her ankles and say, "No slow, human girl."

Lana would wince, but push herself forward.

The pack had been moving for hours. They were hunting, though they had not found anything more than a lizard in a long time. Lana could not help but wonder how they survived if this is how they hunted.

The sun had peaked hours ago, and had been lowering steadily since then – something Lana was glad for. The heat had been decreasing slowly, and the terrain had been leveling as they ran further and further.

"Can we stop and rest now?" Lana panted. She was not in shape, but even if she were, she would be just as tired.

"Pack eat. Then rest," Pack leader slurred, yipping to his pack.

What a messed up day, Lana thought. No; what a messed up week. First the disappearance of what seemed like the whole world. Then just as she thought both her and her dog were going to die, she had somehow healed them both. Her leg and arm had been broken and rotting just days ago, and now she was running through the desert with a pack of wild canines.

She had not thought things could get any worse after the crash, but she had been wrong. Since then, things had been spiraling downhill. She might be able to heal, but she could not cure hunger. She had not eaten since she left the cabin with these stupid mutts. She still didn't even know why they had kidnapped her, really.

She shook her head and tried to focus on breathing, but that only made it worse. She could feel her lungs burning in a way that she had never experienced before. It was so much worse than the normal 'I've been running too long' pain. It was an intense 'I am beyond out of shape and have been running through the desert for more than four hours' pain.

Lucky for her, the pack found a large jackrabbit, and made quick work of killing and eating it. When they were finished with it, nothing was left but a pile of fur and bones.

"Now pack rest," Pack leader managed, then laid down against the hot, dry ground. The rest of the pack quickly joined him.

Lana collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily as she lay on her back looking up at the darkening sky. The temperature had dropped enough for her to be relatively comfortable, considering her situation.

Patrick came and laid down against Lana's side, still panting as the pack slept.

Lana knew she had to get away from the pack. She couldn't last another day of this, not without food or water. She reached over and stroked Patrick's head and ears softly, whispering, "Tonight is the night, Pat. Tonight, we escape."

* * *

Sam had told Quinn and Abby to get some sleep while he drove, because it was going to be a long night. They had not argued, and Sam had said nothing more.

Now, Sam drove slowly up the bumpy dirt road, wondering how the two could be sleeping through all the rattling and jarring. Sam had to take his seat-belt off, because every bump he drove over caused it to dig uncomfortably into his neck.

He had not made it nearly as far as he'd like before it started to get dark. He had turned the headlights on about thirty minutes ago, when it started to get too dark.

Sam muffled a yawn and took one hand from the steering wheel to rub his face. He was getting sleepy.

Suddenly there was a girl in the headlights. A girl and her dog. The girl seemed frozen in a state of shock. Her dog seemed tired.

Sam slammed on the brakes, the car skidding to a stop just inches before colliding with both the girl and her dog.

"What happened?" Quinn asked groggily, wiping the drool off his cheek.

"I'm up!" Abby exclaimed, jumping up from where she had been laying across the back seats.

"There's a girl on the road!" Sam exclaimed, then threw his door open and jumped out. Quinn and Abby were quick to join him.

"Oh my god... A-are you really there?" The girl asked, her voice rough.

"Yeah, we are," Quinn said.

"Oh my god... oh god, Patrick, we're not alone anymore, boy!" She cried and knelt to hug her dog.

Sam frowned, feeling bad for the girl. It seemed as if this girl had been trapped in the desert when the FAYZ happened, just like Kris had been, though this girl had only her dog - not her two best friends.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked softly, stepping towards the girl.

The girl nodded against her dog's neck, then stood, "I'm Lana... Who are you?"

"I'm Sam," He replied, smiling.

Quinn gave a lopsided grin, "Quinn."

"I'm Abby!"

Lana flinched at the high pitched voice of the little girl. "So... What are you guys doing out here, anyways?" Lana finally asked.

"It's a really long story..." Quinn said.

"But," Sam spoke, "Long story short; some pretty fucked up stuff has been happening since the adults disappeared. This guy – Caine – has gone crazy, like, power crazy without the power."

"But he'll have the power soon if we don't stop him!" Abby shouted.

Sam winced, "Which is why we're here, we're going to sneak around the back of Coats and set our friends free, and hopefully stop Caine... Somehow..."

Lana raised an eyebrow at this, "Well, you guys sound like you're talking a lot of bullshit... But, listen, I need to get out of here, before they find me, so if you help me, I'll help you."

"Before who finds you?" Sam asked slowly.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you on the way. Now lets go."

Sam rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, "Okay, get back in the car. We're running out of time."

* * *

**Tada! Haha, and so Lana finally finds her way into the story, and Abby finally starts to tie into the story as well. I figured I had to get Lana in here sooner rather than later, so here she is. Like I've said before, the events of DT are going to vary from the actual books, but in a sense, the story-line will be very similar. Many of the same things, many different. Different relationships, different ways things happened, but the same general outcome. **

**Now, I've been doing a lot of thinking and planning for DT lately, and have decided that I'm going to try and wrap up the first big chunk of the story by chapter 20. It is going to be sort of like a season finale, and then after chapter 20, I will take a break from updating while I write and get ahead. I also promise that Krista will find her powers before, or in chapter 20. Shit is going to go down people! Lol, I'm quite excited to write it, that's for sure.**

**Anyways, that's enough talking for now. As always, leave a review if you want to say or ask anything (I'll love you for it :P), and thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed. **


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